A Night of Neglect
by AspiringWritesFanfics
Summary: Fed up with being sidelined by Rachel Berry, Tina decides to go off on her own by rallying neglected members of other show choirs, cliques, and groups to form her own glee club.
1. Perfect

**Author's Comments**: This fanfic came to me after watching Props (3x20) and as much as I loved the episode, I am disappointed with the lack of Tina-appreciation. Blaine hogs the spotlight way too much for someone who was introduced in Season 2 and had just gotten on New Directions. It's ridiculous the amount of solos he gets. Hell, even Rory got more solos in one season than Tina had in three. Tina gets shafted so much! So as a sort of "revenge" to the Glee head honchos, I'm writing this because of all the characters left, Tina is the only true underdog left. So, this fic is bringing in some of the characters who were either underappreciated, underused, or unloved, this is my way of showing them they matter too. Some of these characters, you probably don't even remember. I'm going to try and be as heavily loyal to the show as I can, but I warn you some crackships will be among you.

**Summary**: Tina's moment in the spotlight started and ended with Sectionals, and as soon as Rachel was allowed back into New Directions, she was pushed aside and forgotten instantly. She tried letting it go, insisting that it was because Rachel was a senior and she'd have her shot next year. But when Blaine is given two solos when he is not only a junior but has also only been in New Directions for several months when Tina and Artie have been on for over two years, that becomes the last straw. Now, fed up with all the attention Rachel and Blaine are getting, Tina decides to go off and rally together some of the most random group of characters from other show choirs and cliques to create her own glee club, Freestyle Unity. With the help of an equally underappreciated Artie, an understanding David Martinez, and a crazy Roz Washington, will Tina's group go from bottom of the barrel to top dogs?

**Story Notes**: This is set around Hold On to Sixteen (3x08). Rachel and Finn are already engaged and everybody knows. Joe Hart transfers to McKinley a lot earlier and joins New Directions because of his crush on Quinn. The New Directions and The Warblers won't have their 'Michael Face-Off' and Blaine won't get slushied. Jeff from The Warblers is a junior like Tina and Artie. David Martinez and Roz Washington will be introduced earlier. Giselle is a senior at Carmel High, and Wade/Unique is already the lead singer of Vocal Adrenaline after dressing in drag for VA's sectionals, which was well-received. Hank Saunders is a senior at another high school. Pendleton from The Purple Piano Project (3x01) is a part of The Unitards with Harmony, and is a sophomore. Aphasia is still at Jane Addams and is a senior, but was held back a year. Hopefully that covers everything.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Glee. If I did, there would be lots and lots of uncensored boy sex, lots of Brittana lovin' instead of Finchel scenes, and Tina would get all the solos. So if that ever happens, you know it's my doing.

**Featured Characters**: Tina C., Jeff, Joe H., Sugar M., Artie A., Blaine A., Sam E., Rachel B., Aphasia, Roz W.

**Featured Pairings**: Tike (Tina/Mike), Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), Brittana (Brittany/Santana)

* * *

**Chapter One  
****Mistreated, Misplaced, Misunderstood, Miss "No Way, It's All Good"  
("Perfect" by P!nk)**

* * *

_**(Tina with New Directions)  
**__A-B-C is easy, it's like counting up to three  
__Sing a simple melody, do re mi, __A-B-C_  
_That's how easy love can be!_

The audience went wild. Tina had put on her best smile as the crowd roared with jeers and applause. _They're cheering for me_, she thought to herself. _So this is what it feels like_.

Complete bliss. She doesn't want this to end.

**glee**

Even over the weekend, Tina Cohen-Chang couldn't stop smiling. She probably smiled more times that weekend then she ever had in her entire life. And on top of that, New Directions had won their Sectionals, beating out The Troubletones and The Unitards. Tina did feel bad for Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany, who wanted so badly to win, but she was too much into her Sectionals high that she didn't give it much thought. Now, she finally knew how Rachel Berry felt. All the applause and the crowd screaming her name: "Tina! Tina! Tina!"

Well, they didn't exactly scream her name, or at all. In fact, most of them were probably under the impression that her name was Nina Conan-Ching, thanks to a severely bad typo in the program. And afterwards, one of the guys on the football team did congratulate her on her epic solo, but as it turned out, he had accidentally mistook her for her boyfriend Mike Chang, which she took as incredibly racist. However, she really did look like him with her hair pulled up. Sam Evans had once pointed out last year that they could be brother and sister, which she thought was really gross.

Anyway...

She walked into glee club with Mike on her arm, her proud grin still prominent as Mike chatted away about a new dance move he wanted to show Mr. Schuester as the said Spanish teacher was being bored to death by Rachel's constant chattering about a set list for Regionals.

Rachel's one-week suspension had been lifted and she was back at school, and back demanding more solos and making kissy-faces at her fiancé, Finn Hudson. Tina didn't mind. She was used to it. Rachel's return meant that Tina would probably be back singing 'oohs' and 'ahs' in the background with Mercedes belting out a random high note right next to her.

Oh that's right. Mercedes wasn't in New Directions anymore. Tina frowned to herself as she gave it some thought about for the first time since Friday after Sectionals. She really wished Santana, Brittany, and Mercedes would come back to glee club; the real glee club.

By the time Tina took a seat next to Mike behind Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson, who were busy chatting away about some re-run they had seen of _Tabatha Takes Over_, whatever that was, Mr. Schue had finally managed to pacify Rachel and proceeded to talk about today's assignment.

"Okay, guys!" the Spanish teacher beamed excitedly, clapping his hands together, "I have some great news. But I'm going to let our very own Quinn Fabray take the stage to tell you it."

The perky former cheerleader rose up from her seat between Artie Abrams and Rory Flanagan, and stood before the glee club, her beautiful, shoulder length hair sway wistfully as she smiled her angelic smile. "So I was talking with Mr. Schue and Rachel over the weekend, and I know you guys were disappointed losing Santana, Brittany, and Mercedes," the blonde sent a knowing look to Tina, "Tina," she said with a smirk as Tina smiled back. Quinn looked back at the glee club, "So, I convinced them to allow them back into New Directions."

Immediately, the entire choir room erupted into applause.

"But," Quinn started, calming the room full of teens, "under the condition that the Troubletones get to perform at least one song at Regionals."

Tina frowned slightly at this. _Damn_, she thought. _Solos are going to be even harder to try-out for now_. But she shrugged it off.

"And," Mr. Schue cut in, "tonight in the auditorium, we're going to perform _We Are Young_ by the band Fun to double as a victory song and as our welcome back for our old friends."

More excited clapping ensued. Everybody was excited as the song had recently become a very popular hit. Needless to say, it was one of Tina's personal favorites as she and Mike would find themselves singing it to each other on the radio in his car. However, her happiness didn't last long when Mr. Schue opened his mouth.

"And I want Rachel and Finn to sing the lead vocals! And since it was Quinn's idea, I want you to sing as well. And Sam too, since you're back in our group once again."

The two blondes hugged each other good-naturedly as Rachel clapped to herself in excitement, her beaming "Rachel Berry" smile prominent. And Finn... Well, Finn was being Finn. As the New Directions members piled out of the choir room in direction to the auditorium to practice, Tina stayed behind, telling Mike that she'll catch up to him in a second. She went over to Mr. Schue, who was standing by the piano and stuffing music sheets into his briefcase. Shuffling her feet nervously, she plucked up the courage to speak.

"Um, Mr. Schue," she said softly.

The Spanish teacher turned to her with a surprised look on his face. "Yes, Tina?"

"Um, I was just wondering," Tina continued timidly, "if maybe I could get a solo in _We Are Young_? I mean, I know you told Finchel, Quinn, and Sam that they'd sing, but I, um, I really love that song and, uh, I just wanted to know if I could, uh, s-sing in it?"

Damn, maybe she really did have a stutter.

When Mr. Schue frowned at the girl in pity, she already knew the answer. "Oh, I'm so sorry Tina. I didn't mean to overlook you. I didn't know you wanted it that bad."

_Where were you the last three years?_ Tina thought bitterly as she looked at Mr. Schue with a down-trodden look like she was kicked puppy. "No way, it's all good."

"Maybe next time."

And with that Mr. Schue packed up his things and followed the group to the auditorium, leaving Tina feeling upset and angry. Oh, how she hated how much Mr. Schuester favored Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson over everyone else. It's so obvious. That was why Mercedes and Santana quit the glee club in the first place. And Brittany just really went along for the ride. But whatever. Tina'll just have to wait her turn, I guess. One day, she'll have her moment in the spotlight again. One day.

"You coming, Tina?" Mr. Schue poked his curly head through the choir room door. Coach Sylvester was right. His head does look like a briar patch.

"Coming." she said solemnly and she scurried off to join the others.

**glee**

After rehearsals, everyone went back to class and Tina was sitting in Mrs. Hagberg's world history class, bored out of her mind, as she watched the slowly-aging woman struggle to remember if Napoleon was a French dictator or an ice cream. Luckily, she had history with Artie and Sam, so she could at least enjoy their company.

"And, uh, Napoleon was killed at the Battle of Watergate, uh no, Waterloo! And, um, all the French people did, uh, stuff," Mrs. Hagberg said she wrote on the chalkboard with a wrinkly hand.

Rolling her eyes, she turned to Sam and passed him a note as he was currently trying to take notes as best as he could. He took it the note and read it to himself, taking a long time to understand the words.

_Doesn't she make you want to pull out your hair?_

_not reallie. im fynding it verry educashinol._

Tina raised an eyebrow at the poor spelling, but then remembered that Sam had dyslexia and immediately felt bad for second-guessing Sam's intelligence for one second. She started writing again and soon the two were exchanging notes throughout class.

_I'm just bored out of my mind and she is terrible._

_who bad can she be?_

_Last week, she tried to convince us that Germany had taken over the world and Nazis were running amok in Sweden._

_haha i gess ur write. r u ok by teh way? u seemd sad at rehursals._

_It's nothing. I just wish Rachel Berry would stop hogging all the solos. I wanted to sing We Are Young._

_sorrie. i didnt no._

_It's not your fault, and I'm happy for you. I promise. :)_

"Miss Conan-Ching, is there something you'd like to share with the class?" Mrs. Hagberg called out as she squint her beady eyes towards the two teens.

"Um, it's Cohen-Chang," Tina corrected tentatively.

"I could've sworn it said Conan-Ching on the program last Friday night," the history teacher said before muttering under her breath, "Damn, Alzheimer's." She looked back at Sam and Tina. "Just pay attention, please. Now class, let's talk about Poland and how it was taken over by the Nazis and how they're running amok..."

As the teacher went off on some pointless spiel that Tina was certain could be interpreted as anti-Semitic, she felt a large, warm hand envelope her own and saw that Sam was trying to comfort her, which she returned with a smile.

**glee**

After school, the New Directions met up in the auditorium to prepare for the re-induction of the ever-charming Santana Lopez, the sassy diva Mercedes Jones, and the sweet, innocent Brittany S. Pierce. Tina also heard a rumor that spoiled girl Sugar Motta would be joining them. Hopefully as a backup dancer because that girl's voice is the sound equivalent of getting your teeth pulled. She sat on the bottom step of stage stairs with the cloud backdrop that the group had used last year after Sectionals was standing prominent.

Rachel Berry started up the song with her youthful exuberance.

_**(Rachel)  
**__Give me a second, I...  
__I need to get my story straight  
__My friends are in the bathroom  
__Getting higher than the Empire State  
__My lover, he's waiting for me  
__Just across the bar  
__My seat's been taken by some sunglasses  
__Asking 'bout a scar and_

_**(Finn)  
**__I know I gave it to you months ago  
__I know you're tryin' to forget  
__But between the drinks and subtle things  
__The holes in my apologies  
__You know, I'm trying hard to take it back_

_**(Sam)  
**__So if by the time the bar closes_

_**(Sam and Quinn)  
**__And you feel like falling down  
__I'll carry you home_

Everybody soon got up from their spots and started dancing as they all engaged in the chorus.

_**(Finn with New Directions)  
**__Tonight  
__We are young_

_**(Rachel and Finn with New Directions)  
**__So let's set the world on fire  
__We can burn brighter than the sun_

Suddenly, Tina heard a very distinctive harmony that the one and only Mercedes Jones can belt out. She turned to see her friends and Sugar standing shyly by the backstage door. With bright smiles on their faces, they contributed to the song.

_**(Mercedes)  
**__Whoa!_

_**(Santana, Mercedes, Brittany and Sugar)  
**__Tonight  
__We are young__  
__So let's set the world on fire__  
__We can burn brighter__  
__Than the sun_

_**(Quinn with New Directions)  
**__Carry me home tonight  
__Just carry me home tonight  
__Carry me home tonight  
__Just carry me home tonight_

Quinn elegantly made her way towards the four girls, grabbing Mercedes and pulling her into a sort of tango pose in an effort to get her to join the group. Artie and Kurt went to retrieve Sugar, who happily sat in Artie's lap, which made Tina a little jealous but not really. Brittany jumped into Rory's arms and he carried her all the way towards Tina and Mike, who greeted her with a big Asian hug.

_**(Santana)  
**__The angels never arrived but I can hear the choir  
__So will someone come and carry me home_

_**(Rachel)  
**Tonight_  
_We are young_

Rachel walked over to Santana and took her hand, pulling her towards the crowd where Finn welcomed her with a gentle hug.

_**(Rachel and Finn)  
**So let's set the world on fire_  
_We can burn brighter_  
_Than the sun_

_**(Mercedes)  
**__We are young_

_**(Santana with New Directions)  
**__Tonight  
__We are young_

_**(Santana and Mercedes with New Directions)  
**__So let's set the world on fire  
__We can burn brighter  
__Than the sun_

_**(Rachel and Finn)  
**__So if by the time the bar closes  
__And you feel like falling down  
__I'll carry you home tonight_

As the song ended, Mr. Schue walked out in his casual clothing and brought the club in for a group hug, all of them cheering happily with screams of laughter and joy. They were a family again.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Well, what did you think? Is it worth continuing? I love feedback. Also, please don't get offended by me portraying Sam's dyslexia the way I did.

**Songs Featured**:  
"ABC" by The Jackson 5. Sung by Tina with New Directions.  
"We Are Young" by fun. featuring Janelle Monaé. Sung by Rachel, Finn, Quinn, Sam, Santana, Mercedes, Brittany, and Sugar with New Directions.


	2. Spotlight

**Author's Comments**: Sorry for the long wait. It's that time of the month where paying for college classes is a priority. Thanks for the love, guys. I was all giddy inside from just one review. I'm really just happy people are actually reading this story. It looks like it's been an interesting week so far. Klainers finally got that box scene they were going nuts about, along with many other deleted scenes. Good for you guys. I just hope people aren't demanding more from Ryan Murphy. Just be thankful for what you have. Anyway, I'm done preaching. This chapter (and the last for that matter) takes place in mid-December and... IT'S _**MICHAEL**_ WEEK! In this chapter, we have a little cameo by our favorite bronze medalist, Roz Washington! And Sam & Mercedes are going to start their little "flirtmance" earlier than the show in this chapter as well along with another non-canon flirtmance that I'll leave you to guess. This chapter is kind of like a mixture of Yes/No (3x10), Michael (3x11) and Props (3x20). That's a lot to cram in, but it's just so I can get those canon parts out of the way.

**Featured Pairings**: Tike (Tina/Mike), Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Brittana (Brittany/Santana), Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), flirtatious!Samcedes (Sam/Mercedes), unrequited!Flamotta (Rory/Sugar)

**Warnings**: Coarse language

* * *

**Chapter Two  
****Well, I Don't Like Living Under Your Spotlight  
****("Spotlight" by Jennifer Hudson)**

* * *

Despite how upset she was for missing out on _We Are Young_, Tina walked into glee club today with a big smile on her face. She had decided during the summer that she is going to change her attitude along with her look. No more gloomy Goth or shy punk. This year, she's a more upbeat, 60's swinging London Tina. Her arm wrapped firmly around Mike's, the two Asian lovers took a seat in the second row next to Santana and Brittany who were currently snuggling and giggling to each other. Tina greeted them with a smile, which they returned. She was happy to have them back, along with Mercedes.

Of course with Brittany, Mercedes, and Santana came Sugar Motta, who was currently sitting in the front row, jamming out to Drake on her iPod as Rory stole lusty glances at her. Tina still wasn't sure what to make of the girl. At times she seemed spoiled and conceited, and other times she was still that but also seemed a little sweet.

Kurt and Blaine were the last to arrive for glee before Mr. Schue proceeded with his usual announcements.

"Alright you guys," he started, calming the chattering choir room. He held up a piece of important-looking paper, "I've just got the brackets on who we're going up against at Regionals."

"That was fast," Tina commented.

"That was fast," Rachel chimed in, as if she never heard Tina.

"Well, we were one of the first in our block to finish our Sectionals, Rachel, so they gave me the notice early this year." Mr. Schue opened up the letter and read the paper aloud. "This time around, our opponents at Regionals will be Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow's The Golden Goblets and the Dalton Academy Warblers."

Blaine frowned when he heard that New Directions were going to go against his former glee club. It would be the first time he'd be up against them in a competition and he wasn't looking forward to it. He already felt like a turncoat for abandoning them to be with Kurt, he felt even worse that he would have to face them in Regionals. But they didn't seem to be sour over his leaving, so Blaine pushed the thought from his mind.

"Looks like Blainey's gonna be facing off against his old Warbler friends," Puck smirked from his spot in the back.

"I don't mind," Blaine replied, not fazed, "It's all good, clean fun."

"That's the attitude, Blaine," Mr. Schue beamed. "Now I think for Regionals, we should open with an epic New Directions number with Rachel, Finn, and Blaine doing some of the lead vocals, followed by a classy Troubletones performance with Santana and Mercedes headlining, and ending with a solo by—"

"Me, of course," Rachel interrupted. "We want to win, don't we? I was thinking that maybe I could do a number by the great Céline Dion. I was teetering between _It's All Coming Back to Me Now_ or maybe _Because You Loved Me_."

As Rachel rambled on, Tina found it more difficult to contain her lunch. Oh how she hated it when Rachel just demanded solos like she was entitled to it and Mr. Schue just lets her have them. Tina swore Rachel was blowing the curly-headed Spanish teacher on the side to get those numbers. Of course, Mr. Schue wouldn't really accept such an offer. As tempting as it is to shove something in Rachel's mouth, it was very obvious that he was afraid of the solo-hungry Jewish girl and pandered to her every need like a spineless jellyfish.

Needless to say, that upbeat 60s London smile wasn't so upbeat anymore.

**glee**

When she and Mike got to lunch, they sat with a few of the Glee kids, Kurt, Blaine, Mercedes, and Sam to be exact. As Kurt whined to Blaine about the ex-Warbler eating pizza for lunch ("Too many calories, Blaine!" Kurt shrieked, "You'll get fat!"), Sam was busy sending cute text messages to Mercedes, both trying their best to be discreet about his obvious flirtation. Mercedes wasn't returning the froggy-lipped blonde's advances, she was just entertaining him with equally flirty texts. The blonde's heart would light up every time Mercedes would send him a text, his bright smile evident on his ruby red lips.

"Can you believe Rachel today?" Tina asked Mike, keeping her voice low from the others.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Rachel's constant need to demand every solo like it's her God-given right."

"It's just Rachel being Rachel, Tina; I don't think it's that big of a deal."

"Of course not, all you do is do dance numbers with Brittany," Tina shot back, "But some of us would like a solo thrown our way every once in a while."

"She's a senior, Tina," Mike defended, "You'll get your shot next year, but this year is for the seniors."

Tina was about to retort that Blaine was getting a solo in the group number when he is in fact a junior, but decided against it to avoid the argument and because Blaine was still at the table, currently being chewed out by Kurt for defiantly eating his pizza. Maybe Mike was right. Was she being stupid for getting so worked up about Rachel stealing the spotlight...again? She should be use it by now, but it seems to have gotten worse this year. Rachel's overbearing personality seems to have reached an even bigger point of arrogance and it was driving Tina insane.

She closed her eyes and counted to three, calming herself before opening them back and resume eating her lunch.

**glee**

Lunch passed by quickly and Tina found herself walking to History with Sam again. He was talking animatedly about his plan to get back together with Mercedes, who still dating that huge linebacker, Shane Tinsley. She wasn't really paying much attention, but from what she gathered Sam was going to join the synchronized swimming team because Mercedes loves jocks and Sam wants to wear a letterman jacket again. Tina went into a fit of giggles when she heard this plan. She laughed even harder when Sam pouted at her giggling, which made his lips look like an actual trout.

"You look like a fish!" Tina pointed to him.

"Do not!" Sam whined.

Tina tried to still her laughing as the two walked into History where Artie was already sitting at their table. Mrs. Hagberg was too busy to teach at the moment, so the class got a few extra minutes of play time while she figured out where U.S.A. was on the world map.

"You should come by and watch me swim," Sam suggested.

"Sam, I hate to be blunt but I don't think that plan's going to work," Tina smiled, still getting out most of her giggles.

"What are we talking about?" Artie asked, wanting to feel included.

"Sam's joining the synchronized swim team to get Mercedes back," Tina answered.

"_Synchronized_ swim team?" the wheelchair-bound singer exclaimed, "Godspeed."

"Why?" Sam furrowed his eyebrow.

"Because one: being in glee club is lame enough to the student body without being in something even lamer as _synchronized_ swimming and two: I heard the gym coach was crazy," Artie retorted, "She's some Olympic medalist or something and brags about it all the time in the teacher's lounge."

"How do you know that?" Sam asked.

"I'm an office aid and I hear her talking about it with Coach Sylvester and Coach Beiste."

"Well, I think it's a great idea." Sam said indignantly. Tina smiled, trying her hardest to contain her laughter. Ignoring her obvious cynicism, Sam asked her if she still wanted to come watch him and she agreed. Mike was going to be busy with football practice after school and she didn't really have anything better to do.

Mrs. Hagberg had finally remembered that "U.S.A." was an acronym for the "United States of America" and successfully found it on the map. About five minutes into her usual boring lecture, the bell rang and the students quickly piled out of there.

**glee**

When school ended, Tina made her way to the indoor pool area on the other side of the school. Truth be told, she had no idea they had a swimming pool or even a swim team, let alone a _synchronized_ swimming team. It's as if they randomly came out of nowhere after three years she had been at McKinley High. Nevertheless, she made her way inside and took a seat in the back of the bleachers. Sam was already in the water doing laps with a few of the swimmers, while others were chatting around the pool.

And then, Tina's eyes widened when Sam finally got out of the pool. He was wearing nothing but tight, form-fitting swim shorts that barely covered his thighs. His entire body was dripping wet and Tina swore she could see the droplets fall between his rock hard, defined abs and down to shorts which showed off his big... Tina quickly looked away for a split second, a furious blush on her face, and regained her composure. She had remembered seeing Sam in such an exposed state during Rocky Horror last year, but now he seemed to have gotten more definition and his body had gotten leaner. She had guessed it was from Sam's stripper days—I mean, _exotic dancer_.

Sam waved at her with a big smile on his face, and she half-heartedly returned the gesture, hoping her red face wasn't obvious. Sam was currently walking with two swim geeks as they laid down the basics of the swim team. Before Sam could add anything to the conversation, a loud, obnoxious voice boomed through the building. A tall, black woman with short blonde hair in a red tracksuit who looked like one of those crazy _Real Housewives_ was walking towards him with an intimidating stance.

"Samuel Evans," she declared, "I'm Coach Roz Washington and you are one strange looking kid. I have never seen lips like that on a white child." This made Tina laugh, because it was sort of true. "And one of your nipples is higher than the other."

_Who cares about his nipples? His abs are what's important_, Tina found herself thinking before mentally slapping herself for thinking such a thing. Mike has amazing abs.

As Coach Washington ripped the Trouty Mouth a new one, Tina received a text message from Mike asking where she was.

**From:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:03PM)  
_Tina? Where are you?_

**To:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:04PM)  
_I'm at the school swimming pool, watching Sam practice._

**From:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:04PM)  
_Why are you with Sam?_

Tina was surprised Mike would ask a question as if he was implying something.

**To:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:06PM)  
_What are you trying to say?_

**From:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:08PM)  
_I'm saying why are you with Sam of all people?_

**To:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:09PM)  
_He's my friend! Why do you think I'm with him?_

**From:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:10PM)  
_It just seems a little inappropriate._

**To:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:11PM)  
_Why? Nothing's going on Michael Robert Chang!_

**From:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:10PM)  
_If nothing's going on, why are you getting defensive about it?_

**To:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:13PM)  
_Because my boyfriend is obviously implying that I'm sleeping around with my friend, which I'm not, thank you very much_

**From:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:15PM)  
_Well it seems strange that my girlfriend is hanging with someone who is trying to break up another couple_

This had Tina boiling. How dare Mike stoop so low as to call Sam a home wrecker? Well he kind of was, but that's not the point! He's supposed to be Sam's friend and he's acting like a total jerk! Sam didn't do anything wrong... technically. It doesn't matter. Mike's in the wrong and that's that.

**To:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:17PM)  
_I'm so over this, Mike. I'm done talking to you_

**From:** Mike Chang (Dec 13 4:18PM)  
_Fine then. Find your own ride home._

And that officially ended the text argument. Tina was so pissed that she had half a mind to throw her iPhone into the pool, but thankfully thought against it. Throughout Sam's practice, Tina tried to distract herself by watching Sam's performance, which was actually pretty good. That Coach Washington, albeit loud and crazy, was good at choreography. Maybe Mr. Schue could learn a thing or two from the proud Olympic athlete. Once they were done, Sam immediately went over to Tina in his new letterman jacket (and still in his tight swim shorts).

"What did you think?" he asked hopefully.

Tina couldn't resist that nervous, boyish smile of his and answered immediately. "You did awesome."

"Thanks," Sam laughed bashfully, and Tina thought it was the cutest thing ever.

"Hey, uh, I told Mike that you were going to give me a ride. I guess I should've asked first, but I wanted to see you practice and all." Tina stated. She didn't want to tell Sam that she and Mike got into an argument over him, so she felt it was best to lie and pretend they didn't have a fight.

"Sure, of course," Sam said without question as he pulled on some sweatpants and the two headed out of the building. "Wanna get something to eat? All that synchronized swimming really takes it out of you."

"I'd love to," Tina smiled.

"Wanna invite Mike?"

"No, he said he was tired from football."

"Okay."

**glee**

The next day, Tina walked into glee with another huge smile on her face despite not being with Mike at the time. They still hadn't talked to one another because of the Sam argument, and there was no way in hell she was going to apologize for hanging out with her friend. And Sam was such a perfect gentlemen to her last night. He had taken her to Burritos, a new Mexican restaurant that opened up by the Hudson-Hummel home where Sam was staying. They had talked for what felt like hours on end about a lot things and Sam even made Tina laugh with his Clint Eastwood impressions. It was a great night, one that she hadn't had in a long time that didn't involve chicken feet and Mrs. Chang.

Tina sat next to Sam who was sending yet another text message to Mercedes. She didn't know why, but Tina started feeling a little jealous of Mercedes. Mike never sent her flirty messages or do what Sam was doing for Mercedes and woo her. Well, technically Mike did woo Tina with his amazing dancer abs and stole her from Artie, which was something Sam was trying to do with Mercedes and Shane, but still. She deserved a little appreciation if she wasn't getting that from being in New Directions.

Mike entered the choir room with a sullen look on his face. Bravely, he walked towards the open spot next to Tina and set down right next to her. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he turned to her and muttered out an apology for being a jerk last night.

"Can you forgive me?"

Tina sighed and nodded her head. "Of course." They hugged out and Mike linked his fingers around hers as they waited for glee to start up.

Mr. Schue walked in with yet another vest and tie. Seriously, the man was obsessed with vests. He looked like an elder Jonas Brother.

"Alright guys, I was brainstorming some ideas for a set list for Regionals and—" Blaine excitedly raised his hand. "Yes, Blaine?"

"Mr. Schue, before we start I have a song I'd like to sing, please."

"Sure, go ahead."

The band members started up their instruments to the a funky beat that Tina instantly recognized as a Michael Jackson beat. Before long, Kurt, Mercedes, Santana, and Brittany were up and joining Blaine in his funky groove.

_**(Blaine)  
**__I said you wanna be startin' somethin'  
__You got to be startin' somethin'  
__I said you wanna be startin' somethin'  
__You got to be startin' somethin'_

Admittedly, Tina found the performance amazing and Blaine was doing an excellent job at performing, as painful as it was to believe. However, she was still annoyed by Blaine singing yet another song for glee. Tina had once asked Mr. Schue if she could perform her favorite Evanescence song, but he turned her down because they were too busy thinking up a song for Sectionals. Half the time, the kids goofed off in glee, so she never understood why she couldn't get to sing. Before she knew it, Blaine was reaching the end of his song.

_**(Blaine with New Directions)  
**__Lift your head up high  
__And scream out to the world!  
__I know I am someone  
__And let the truth unfurl!_

Brittany, Santana, Kurt, and Mercedes were doing great with the back-up vocals and everybody was jamming to Blaine's amazing performance.

_**(Blaine with New Directions)  
**__Help me sing it, baby!  
__Mama se, mama se, mama coo sa!  
__Mama se, mama se, mama coo sa!  
__Mama se, mama se, mama coo sa!_

Once the song was over, everybody, even Rachel, erupted into applause. Sugar was whistling, pumping her first, and jumping up and down, a sight that pleased Rory. Santana and Brittany were patting Blaine on the back as Kurt and Mercedes were taking a bow.

"Wow, Blaine, that was amazing!" Mr. Schue lauded as he patted Blaine's back. "What brought this on?"

"Well, Kurt and I were talking and, um, _he_ suggested that since the Jackson Medley was so well-received by the audience at Sectionals, that we should do a Michael Jackson tribute for Regionals." Blaine smiled at Kurt who returned it with a small smile of his own. The choir room erupted in even more applause at the thought of getting to do Michael Jackson.

"Great idea guys!" Schuester exclaimed.

"Yeah, that sounds awesome!" Finn beamed.

"I never got the appeal," Rachel said bluntly, silencing the choir room.

"Excuse me?" Santana asked her, completely scandalized. "What are you going on about, Gayberry?"

"I just never got the appeal," the perky Jewish girl replied, "Give me Bernadette Peters any day, but I just never got the hype."

"If only I hadn't drank all of my Starbucks before coming here, I would've tossed it in your face and then be disappointed that it wouldn't nearly have been scalding enough."

"I listened to Michael Jackson when I was baby and still had functioning legs," Artie chimed in. "My first words were 'Hot damn'."

"You guys, gears are turning in my head and I think this Michael Jackson tribute will be outstanding for us," Schuester beamed. "So, I just decided right now that since we're all excited to do a Michael Jackson medley, we should give people more opportunities for a solo at Regionals."

Tina instantly perked up at this information, her heart beating fast with delight and hope. Even better, Rachel looked super pissed at the news and even elbowed Finn in the ribs for clapping at the suggestion. Maybe Tina can finally have that moment in the spotlight again. But of course, it seemed that every moment that made her happy in glee, ended up crashing and burning. As soon as Mr. Schuester opened his mouth, Tina could already tell what he was going to say.

"I was thinking that instead of a solo for Regionals, we could do a duet between Blaine and Rachel!" Everyone seemed to like the idea of another Anderberry collaboration since their voices meshed so well together with their duets from _West Side Story_ and Rachel's Trainwreck Extravaganza. "How about you guys sing _Smooth Criminal_?"

"Yeah! We should do the 2Cellos version," Blaine suggested, "That would be really classy."

"I call _I Want You Back_ for The Troubletones," Santana declared proudly.

"Does that even count?" Sam asked. "It's Jackson 5, not Michael Jackson."

"Oh, please, Salamander Lips! MJ sang it, we do it."

"Um, Mr. Schue," Tina called out over the chattering New Directions member, which silenced them to hear what the former Goth had to say. This was probably the most they've paid attention to her. "Can we audition for that duet?"

"Audition?!" Rachel shrieked. "B-but that was supposed to be my solo! It just got cut to a duet and I'm perfectly fine singing with Finn or Blaine because our voices blend so well together, but I have to sing. I'm applying to NYADA! I have to have an extensive résumé!"

"I'm only asking because some of us would like to sing at Regionals too, Rachel," Tina said defiantly.

"Tina!" Mike hissed, but she completely ignored him. He was already walking on thin ice with her; she didn't need to deal with him trying to pacify her.

"Tina, sweetheart," Rachel looked up at Tina with her brightest smile that was meant to be genuine but seemed extremely fake. It made Tina want to punch her in big-nosed face. "I appreciate your dedication and I'm truly flattered that you would want to follow in my footsteps as the lead vocalist, but I'm afraid that will not do this year. We have to be in tip-top shape and I just think that I'm more qualified. And plus, this is my last year here. I need to make the most of my senior year, as do all of the other seniors."

"Sorry, Tina, Rachel's right," Mr. Schue said solemnly. "It is the seniors' year. Maybe next time."

The choir room then commenced with its usual chatter as Tina sat there, shocked, with Mike looking at her with a look of disappointment and Sam sending her a sympathetic glance. It's the seniors' year? _Seniors_' year? Blaine is not a senior, damn it. He is a junior and he hasn't even been in New Directions as long as Tina has. She was one of the original glee club members back when there were six and people were hurling abuse and slushies at all of them. There was no way in hell some hobbit with Sandy Cohen eyebrows was going to come in and hog the spotlight. The group gets enough of that bullshit with Rachel. _Maybe next time_? Hell no, or _hell to the no_, as Mercedes would say. There was no way Tina was going to live in Blaine and Rachel's shadows anymore.

She stood up from her seat and...

"NO!" Tina said defiantly, so loud that everyone stared at her in shock. Tina herself was surprised at her impulsive stance, but she didn't care. This needed to be said. She walked to the front of the choir room and turned towards Rachel, who looked frightened and was pressing her side to Finn like that would protect her.

"Rachel, how dare you talk to me like I am your inferior," Tina said automatically as if she couldn't control herself. "I am just as important in this group as you are. You use that senior excuse to get what you want, but in truth, you're really just a spotlight hog." The usually-kind Asian beauty turned to Mr. Schue, who was just as shocked as the others. "And Mr. Schue, how can you stand there and pander to her every need? And agreeing with her? How can you say that me not getting a solo is because I'm a junior when Blaine is a junior himself and he hasn't even been here as long as I have?"

Mr. Schue didn't say anything because he knew she was right. Blaine held his head down, feeling guilty and ashamed. He had never wanted to come to New Directions to cause trouble. He just wanted to be with the person he loved and sing.

"I have lived under Rachel's shadow for so long, that I will be damned if I have to live under Blaine's too."

And with that, Tina marched out of the choir room, leaving everyone stunned and immobile.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: OMG! I loved this chapter! Damn that last part felt good to write. I feel like I felt Tina's pain just now. Anyway, back to reality. What did you guys think? I hate that I made Mike out to be a jerk, because admittedly of all the canon couples that I can stomach on the show, Tike is the one I tolerate the most. But this fic isn't really going to follow that many canon couples; in fact a lot of crackships will happen. Also, as much as I love this pairing, and I'm sure some of you do too, don't get too attached to the Sam/Tina pairing, or as I like to call it "Samtina." It's not something I'm looking for in terms of endgame for this fic (although, like I said before, I am in love with the pairing), but things can change. You know, I made this fic because I was tired of all the Blaine solos and ironically, he was the only one who got to sing in this chapter. I did decide, however, not to write the full song because I did that in the last chapter for _We Are Young_ and it just seemed to be too much like filler. So I'll try cutting the songs short when necessary. Anyway, tell me what you think! Want me to keep going?

**Songs Featured**:  
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" by Michael Jackson. Sung by Blaine with New Directions.


	3. Camoflauge

**Author's Comments**: Look! Another chapter for you guys! And earlier than usual! I got so pumped from finishing the last one, I actually got through this one pretty quickly. This is where we finally get the plotline going where Tina gets the idea to start her own choir. This chapter, I'd say, is still following the Michael (3x11) storyline but with some altered bits. This is where the New Directions finds out about Blaine's choir infidelity. Bad boy, Blaine! No bowtie-shaped cookie for you. Anyway, also present in this chapter is the Jane Addams Academy choir from Hairography (1x11)! Always exciting to see old faces, especially when they're from season one, which is the best season, IMO. Admittedly though, of the three Jane Addams characters we were introduced to (Aphasia, Jayelle, and Shadonda), Jayelle was actually the most neglected one (Aphasia got funny lines while Shadonda sang lead). But Aphasia was too funny of a character to pass up for this story, so unfortunately Jayelle's getting sidelined again. Poor fictional girl. Also just to tell you a head of time, the Jane Addams girls sing a certain Destiny's Child song that I love and you will probably notice that lyrics are not right. That was intentional. It was just so that it could fit better with the girls, kind of like how Glee changes up song lyrics sometimes to fit the storylines.

**Featured Pairings**: Tike (Tina/Mike), Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), Brittana (Brittany/Santana), unrequited!Flamotta (Rory/Sugar), Shanecedes (Shane/Mercedes), flirtatious!Samcedes (Sam/Mercedes)

**Warnings**: Coarse language, offensive terms

* * *

**Chapter Three  
****I'm A Seed Growing Into a Flower, I'm a Storm That's Rising and Getting Stronger with Every Hour  
****("Camoflauge" by Brandy)**

* * *

Tina didn't know where she was running to, she just let her feet take her wherever as her eyes welled up with tears. She didn't know how many turns she took, but every hallway seemed to look the same. Eventually, she took another turn and ran straight into someone, knocking herself backwards on her butt. She heard an obnoxious laugh and knew right away who that was.

"What's the matter, Vampira?" taunted Azimio Adams, a largely-built linebacker with a mean-looking face and an even meaner personality. "They run out of _True Blood_ DVDs at the video store?"

Tina was so upset, she couldn't see straight or think of a comeback, not that she ever did make comebacks. Tears were already freely falling down her cheeks as her mascara started to get ruined. Azimio didn't seem fazed by her crying and kept on.

"Aww, what happened? Someone put garlic in the school special?" Azimio sneered, "Go back to your coffin, Count Chinkula."

That was the last straw. She got up from the floor, dusted herself off and then shouted right back at him.

"Really, Azimio? You're honestly going to call me names as unoriginal as that? I'm not even going Goth anymore; that was so last year!" Tina didn't know what happened today to make her have these random outbursts, but damn it, she was not going to stop now. She was in too deep. "You're pathetic! You're not worth my time or my tears because you are just a follower! At least I try to be an individual; all you are is a lapdog! You will never be as popular as Finn or even Karofsky! The puckheads with their stupid mullets will always be cooler than you!"

"Shut up, witch!"

"It's true! Don't you ever get tired of being sidelined? You're a linebacker on the second string football team. Coach Beiste doesn't respect you nor do any of the players. You're just a loser like me! But at least I have something worth fighting for. You'll never know what it's like to be an individual! You're a puppet!"

"I said shut up!" Azimio raised a fist, ready to knock her out but kept it at a small distance from her face. Tina was unfazed, unafraid of being hit. If Kurt can stand up to Dave Karofsky, Tina can certainly stand up to Azimio Adams.

"Do it, I dare you," she challenged, staring the linebacker dead into his eyes. "It'll only prove how right I am. Because you can't handle the cold, ugly truth."

Azimio saw red and rammed his fist full force into the lockers, his knuckles barely ghosting Tina's nose. She was unscathed and Azimio turned and stalked off with a sour look on his face. It would've seemed that this would've been the end of the argument, but Tina felt something bubble inside her that she couldn't help but spit it out.

"Don't you ever get tired of living in Finn and Karofsky's shadow?" she shouted to him, her voice laced with rage. She didn't know why she asked the question or why she phrased it that way, but she didn't really think Azimio would actually answer.

The wide-set linebacker turned his head and muttered so low that Tina could just barely make it out, "All the time."

And then he was gone, leaving the neglected Asian girl behind with her mouth slightly open at his honesty. She almost felt sorry for him in a way; because she knew what it was like to be him. However, she quickly pushed that thought from her mind and rejected the idea that she and Azimio could ever have anything in common.

"Tina!"

Tina turned to see Mike run up to her. He must not have seen or heard her stand-off with Karofsky because he did not look concerned at all. Instead he looked angry and disappointed, and Tina knew that he was going to give her an earful about her outburst in glee club.

"Tina how could you say those things to Rachel and Mr. Schue?"

"I'm tired Mike."

"Well, go to bed earlier then!"

"No, Mike. I'm tired of Rachel and her need to have everything she asks for, I'm tired of Blaine and his annoying bowties and his constant singing, I'm tired of Mr. Schue and his stupid vests and biased opinions, I'm tired of it all, Mike! I'm tired of being sick and tired."

"Tina! Where is this coming from? It's like I don't even know you anymore!" Mike stared her down with a fierce gaze, like he couldn't believe she would act like this.

"What do you mean where is this coming from?" Tina yelled to her boyfriend. "Mike, it's always been here. I don't want to be sidelined in favor of Blaine hogging the spotlight!"

"So this is about Blaine? Why do you hate him so much?"

"I don't hate Blaine, Mike. I hate that he is getting everything that we have worked so hard to get. Santana and Mercedes left the glee club to form the Troubletones because they were tired of singing back-up to Rachel and Blaine. And I'm sick of it too."

"Tina, you've got to stop this tirade about Blaine and Rachel!" the dancer argued, talking to her as if she was a spoiled child. "You will get your shot next year."

"I don't want to get my shot next year! I want it now! It's not fair that Blaine got to lead the Warblers last year and then come here and sing out in front like he's been here forever." Tina was shouting so much, she thought she'd lose her voice, which would only add to the list of things that would piss her off at this moment. "Who does he think he is coming here and taking what everyone else in glee club had worked so hard for? He hasn't put in as many hours as me or Artie or Santana or even you!"

"I'm not singing in the front and you don't see me complaining."

"Because you don't care about it as much as I do. You care about dancing, I care about singing."

"You're being unreasonable! I'm really disappointed in you." Before Tina could retort, Mike stalked off angrily back to the choir room, leaving the girl to her thoughts.

**glee**

The next day was extremely uncomfortable for everyone. Glee rehearsal was after school as usual, but no one would say anything because of Tina's outburst. Instead, Mr. Schue would just get straight to the choreography for the New Directions number, in which he chose to do _Bad_. During the number, Tina and Mike did not look each other in the eye or talk to each other. Instead, they took their place in the group number as Rachel and Finn went into the chorus for the Michael Jackson hit. It was literally, the most awkward glee rehearsal since everyone found out the father of Quinn's baby was Puck, and not Finn.

When rehearsal was over, everyone left the choir room in silence.

It wasn't until the morning after, that Tina was at her locker putting things away in her bag when she was approached by Blaine Anderson. He stood there, with his satchel over his chest which was covered by a really ugly-looking cardigan. Tina never understood why a guy as handsome as Blaine could dress so geeky. He looked like a sad combination between Pee-Wee Herman and Steve Urkel. And don't get her started on his hair. It looked like it was made of plastic with all that gel he covered it with.

"Blaine," Tina said curtly. Blaine clearly picked it up when he frowned and suddenly shuffled his loafers nervously.

"Uh, hi, Tina," he managed out. He clutched onto his satchel with both his hands as he continued, "How, um, how are you?"

"Fine," she replied shortly. "Something you need?"

"Look, I'm really sorry about all this," he said sincerely. "I really didn't mean to come in and cause all these problems for you guys. I just—I only joined so I could be with Kurt and now I ruined everything."

Tina inwardly rolled her eyes, but sighed to herself. She knew perfectly well that Blaine never did anything wrong, so it was really unfair to him for her to be such a bitch to him. She shook her head and sighed again. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean any harm. You didn't ruin anything."

Blaine smiled widely at hearing Tina forgive him before saying goodbye and taking off to find Kurt so they could walk to glee together. Tina closed her locker and took her leave down the hallway towards glee club, not bothering to find Mike.

When she got there, Mercedes and Santana were in a fuss about something. Tina was surprised to find that Kurt was already there when Blaine was off looking for him. The porcelain-skinned fashionista was currently typing on his iPhone furiously with a very livid look on his face. Artie was looking depressed and Puck looked like he was ready to kill somebody. Raising an eyebrow, she walked over to her spot, no one had noticed her. Big shock.

"I can't believe it! This is such bullshit," Santana spat out.

"I know! That meerkat-faced rat!" Kurt sneered, hitting the send button on his phone.

"What's going on?" Tina finally managed to ask.

Santana turned towards the former Goth and said, "That chlamydia poster child from the Warblers stole Michael from us!"

Tina realized that Santana must have been talking about Sebastian Smythe from the Dalton Academy. But what was she going on about him stealing Michael from them?

"Blaine told Sebastian that we were doing Michael Jackson for Regionals, so Sebastian came to us at the Lima Bean and told us that they were going to do Michael as well." Kurt added in, his face so flushed with rage his pale skin was a deep pink.

"And since those obviously closeted Backstreet Boys drew first pick for Regionals, we're going to look like we copied off them!" Santana finished, her eyes red with anger, so scary that no one would want to screw with the feisty Latina.

Blaine walked into the choir room with a look of concern, his Blackberry in hand. "Kurt, what's going on?" he asked innocently, "I just got your text to meet you here immediately. Is everything okay?"

"No, Blaine, everything is not okay," Kurt said nastily, making the bowtie loving teen cower under his murderous gaze. Tina almost felt sorry for the former prep school kid. Kurt's bitchy glares come about as close to killing a person as any stare could. No one wants to be on the receiving end of that.

"What do you mean?"

"Sebastian stole Michael from us!" Santana answered, though she was madder at that sneaky twink than at Blaine.

"What?!"

"You heard her right, Blaine! Sebastian told us that you told him over the phone that we were doing Michael!" Kurt crossed his arms and tapped his foot expectantly.

Blaine was at a loss for words, too frightened by everybody's anger at him to speak. When he finally mustered up the courage, it came out in a slight stutter. "B-but how? W-why would he do that?"

"So it's true?" Rachel shrieked.

"How could you do that, dude?" Finn asked, sounding disappointed.

"He's a modern day Eggs Benedict, that's why," Puck accused stupidly, "Once a Warbler, always a Warbler."

"I wanted so badly to do Michael again..." Artie said sadly.

"How long have you two been talking to each other?" Kurt asked Blaine accusingly.

"W-what?"

"I thought I told you not to talk to him, Blaine! He's trying to come between us!"

"Wanky," Santana inappropriately muttered to Mercedes, who rolled her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Kurt!"

"I don't want to talk to you right now. You completely screwed us over." Kurt pushed passed Blaine and left the choir room with Blaine in tow, who looked like he was ready to burst into tears.

Mr. Schue had just walked in when this took place and saw the two gay kids run straight passed him. He turned to the glee kids with a confused look, seeing the anger and upset looks on their faces.

"What's wrong with Kurt and Blaine?"

"Gelmet Head told that Sebastian guy from the Warblers about our plan to do Michael Jackson for Regionals, and now they're doing Michael." Puck informed the curly-headed Spanish teacher.

Schuester's eyes widened at the news. "Are you serious?"

"What are we going to do?" Mercedes worriedly asked.

"It's alright guys, we'll just have to come up with a different set list," Mr. Schue said, calming the group down a bit. "Regionals are in February, so we have two whole months to think up a set list and routine." The choir room was silent, unsure and without confidence. "Come on guys, let's get to work. Start brainstorming."

**glee**

Tensions were at an all-time high in glee club the next day. Mike sat at the opposite end from Tina's spot by Sam and Mercedes. Kurt walked into glee today, a sad look on his face and his eyes red that Tina knew was from crying. She and Mercedes were talking during lunch about how Kurt and Blaine were fighting so much over Blaine's relationship with Sebastian and things ended ugly. Blaine didn't show up to glee, citing a sick day. With all of these issues suddenly happening, Tina started to soften up a bit. All these emotions she was feeling were not worth it right now, she decided. She placed a sympathetic hand to Kurt's shoulder which he took warmly, smiling a sad smile to her.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked the gay diva.

Kurt took a while to respond, but he nodded slowly. "I think we'll get over it and then go back to watching a _Project Runway_ marathon or something."

Tina grinned happily at him as Mr. Schuester walked in.

"Okay guys, we're gonna have rehearsal in the auditorium this time. We have some special guests today."

The kids all followed the Spanish teacher to the auditorium with curious looks on their faces. Along the way, Mike walked up to Tina as she wheeled Artie down the hall and whispered to her. "I'm sorry." he said quietly.

"You've been saying that a lot lately," Tina muttered back.

"I know, I just got so worked up."

"But why though? Shouldn't I be the one mad?" Tina didn't look his way and instead tried her best to wheel Artie in peace.

"I'm sorry, Tina. I really didn't mean it." The break dancer looked at his girlfriend with puppy dog eyes. Luckily for him, he caught Tina in a better mood and she agreed that they can start acting like a proper couple again. When the entire group entered the auditorium, they saw that there many young girls, all mean-looking with too much make-up and hairspray in their heads, on stage getting ready to perform. It suddenly dawned on Tina that these were the Jane Addams Academy girls from two years ago. Suffice it to say, they look like they have not changed at all.

"Mr. Schue!" Rachel hissed to the Spanish teacher, "These are the people who stole our set list from Sectionals two years ago."

"I know Rachel, and Ms. Hitchens had apologized for that, so as good sports I agreed to let them practice in our auditorium." Schuester proceeded to go up to the stage to talk to Ms. Grace Hitchens, the beautiful and sassy choir director of Jane Addams Academy, ignoring Rachel's huffs as she took a seat next to Finn.

Eventually, all of the New Directions members were sitting in various spots scattered across the auditorium seats. Brittany and Santana took a spot in the back of the first section where they could have some privacy to sneak in a few kisses and "love touches". Kurt sat by himself with his phone out, texting whom Tina guessed to be Blaine. Sam sat by Tina and Mike, who wasn't pleased to see the blonde next to his girlfriend. Mercedes sat with Kurt to keep him company, and receiving cute text messages from Sam. Finn, Rachel, Quinn, and Puck all sat in the same row with the latter two sitting at the edge while Finchel sat in the middle. Sugar sat in the back row next to Artie as Rory took a seat next to her, hoping to stay as close to her as possible.

"They're criminals!" Rachel hissed to her boyfriend, "Haven't we had enough with thieves for one day?"

"Shut up, Jewberry." Santana muttered before slipping her tongue back into Brittany's eager mouth.

"It's the truth!"

"Alright guys," Mr. Schue called out from the auditorium, "You remember the Jane Addams Academy All-Girls Choir—" The Spanish teacher stopped for a second when a girl with penciled-in eyebrows and a big afro, whose shirt read "Cree", came up to him and whispered into his ear. Schuester furrowed his eyebrows before turning awkwardly back to the New Directions. "Um, correction... The Jane Addams Academy's... Bootylicious Angels." The last part he barely let out.

The New Directions tried their hardest not to laugh, but Brittany and Santana were giggling unashamedly.

"Please give them you're attention and respect," Schuester said sternly, clearing talking to Brittana.

"Hit it, ladies." Hitchens snapped her fingers and the music started playing.

_**(Jayelle)  
**__Shadonda with my girls, baby  
__It's Jayelle, baby, it's our destiny  
__All these Angels, come on_

The last time the girls were here, they performed a rather showy version _Booytlicious_ by Destiny's Child, incorporating what Rachel and Brittany referred to as 'hairography', and to be perfectly frank, the girls of Jane Addams have not changed their style at all. The song they chose was another Destiny's Child song, _Independent Women_, from the _Charlie's Angels_ soundtrack. Despite their amateur work, Tina did enjoy the performance they gave. The beginning part that some girl she had managed remember as Jayelle was rather silly with her attempt to rewrite the original lyrics, but she still found it amusing. Tina was definitely into the musical number, so before she knew it a heavy-set girl (whom Tina couldn't tell if she were black or Hispanic or both) was already singing the chorus with the Bootylicious Angels singing back-up.

_**(Shadonda with Bootylicious Angels)  
**__All the women who are independent  
__Throw your hands up at me  
__All the honeys making money  
__Throw your hands up at me  
__All the mommas who profit dollars  
__Throw your hands up at me  
__All the ladies who truly feel me  
__Throw your hands up at me_

And damn it if Tina couldn't resist moving with the Jane Addams girls and throwing her hands up in the air. Mike tried his best to settle her down, clearly embarrassed by her sudden dancing. Sam, however, just laughed at his friend's sudden need to dance along with Jane Addams girls as they twisted their hair around like they were having a seizure.

Tina was rather impressed. She hadn't got so into a song in a long time. This really lifted her spirits in the late, and the lyrics were definitely something she could relate too. Sometimes it was hard watching from the sidelines, seeing everyone else getting their moments in the spotlight over and over again. She wanted to have that so badly. If only there was some way that could happen...

_**(Shadonda with Bootylicious Angels)  
**__Girl I didn't know you could get down like that  
__Tell me how you Angels get down like that  
__Girl I didn't know you could get down like that  
__Show me how you Angels get down like that_

After the song ended, New Directions applauded politely, though none were as genuine as Tina was with their applause, except maybe Sam. Tina smiled as the girls all walked off the stage one by one. Their song really did make her feel better, and she was hoping to get through the week with a more positive attitude. Maybe she and Mike can work things out again and try to go back to the way they were. She was the last one to leave the auditorium as Mike offered to wheel Artie for her. When she finally got out, she heard a commotion going on down the hall. Curious, she left the group and turned the corner to see a few of the Jane Addams girls having an argument. Being the gossip monger that she was, she loved some good drama so she hid behind the lockers to listen in.

"You were 'sposed to gimme dat solo, Shadonda," came a loud voice. "We had a deal!" Tina looked to see that it was a very skinny, dark-skinned girl with hair that almost looked like a weave.

"Shut up, Aphasia," the girl called Shadonda retorted. "You been ridin' us all week for a damn solo. You know I'm da lead singer! You just a back-up dancer."

"I'll show you back-up dancer, Precious Jones!" Aphasia lunged at Shadonda with the intent knock her out, but both girls were held back by their teammates.

Tina giggled. _This is getting good_! As it turns out, she wasn't the only one dealing with sidelining problems. It looks like every show choir has drama. Even if they were criminals.

"Girls! Girls! Girls!" Ms. Hitchens shouted, breaking up the fight. "Aphasia, you need to go cool off in the auditorium! Shadonda, Jayelle, go take the girls back to the bus. Now, before you set me off!"

Without hesitation, the two head singers led the choir of thugs down the hall where Tina was at. She cowered in fear when they went straight passed her, hoping they wouldn't say anything to her.

"Whatchu lookin' at, Maggie Q?" Shadonda snarled intimidatingly, which made Tina whimper. That girl was scary.

Eventually, the girls were down the hall and Tina was free to walk again without the risk of getting cut. She decided to take the long route and walked by the auditorium where she heard music playing. Curiosity, once again getting the best of her, she poked her head through the door to the backstage to hear that someone was harmonizing to a piano and violin playing.

_**(Aphasia)  
**__I don't need no one to put me down  
__I'm on the ground  
__Can't get no lower  
__And I don't need no one to hang around  
__And make me frown  
__It just makes me look older_

Tina was shocked to hear the former convict singing so beautifully. That Aphasia girl was right, they're missing out on a beautiful voice.

_**(Aphasia)  
**__I don't need no one to black my eye  
__And tell me lies  
__Don't wanna cry over nobody else  
__No, no, no, no  
__I can do bad all by myself_

Tina wanted to hear the rest, but she got a text from Mike asking where she was, and so she bolted for the choir room. Tina noted what an interesting week it's been. She suddenly realized that she wasn't the only Tina Cohen-Chang being sidelined by a Rachel Berry. It turns out there were others who would like to get out of other people's shadows. It wasn't just her. She could definitely sympathize with them. First Azimio, now that Aphasia girl. Who was next?

And then it dawned on the Asian beauty. Herself? Azimio? Aphasia? There had to be more people in their situation. More glee club singers who were being pushed to the side and neglected and not be given a damn about. There had to be people who were constantly underappreciated, who wanted that moment in the spotlight. Tina was sure that there could be a way for those people to have that moment out in front. An idea popped into head, and she smirked to herself. She went back to the choir room without saying a word to anyone, the huge smile still on her face.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Yay! Tina finally got that little idea planted into her head. I haven't written the next chapter yet, but I'm not sure if should go straight into Tina gathering members or if I should drag it out a little longer. I am leaning towards continuing the Sam/Tina friendship storyline and finishing the New Directions/Warblers rivalry storyline and then going forward with the main plot into the next chapter or just cram it into one big chapter. We'll see. Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story so far.

**Songs Featured**:  
"Independent Women" by Destiny's Child. Sung by Shadonda and Jayelle with Bootylicious Angels.  
"I Can Do Bad" by Mary J. Blige. Sung by Aphasia.


	4. Happy

**Author's Comments**: Okay, so this chapter is shorter than the other two. But it at least gives some insight on how Tina is able to form a glee club with students from other schools. This is something that I made up, so I'm kind of bending the reality rules a bit. But hey, Glee's done that many times and we still love it. This chapter is going for a more comedic approach because the last three chapters weren't that funny. So enjoy!

**Featured Pairings**: Tike (Tina/Mike), Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), Shanecedes (Shane/Mercedes), flirtatious!Samcedes (Sam/Mercedes)

**Warnings**: Offensive terms

* * *

**Chapter Four  
****I Can't Stand By the Side and Watch This Life Pass Me By  
****("Happy" by Leona Lewis)**

* * *

Right after glee rehearsal, Tina high-tailed it to her car (she and Mike were driving in seperate vehicles now) and drove straight to the local library. By the time she got there, it was already a quarter 'til five and Patches, the homeless man who talks to street signs and screams at traffic, was currently fighting with a stop sign because it had stolen his food. She walked up the steps and into the library, which smelled of old paper and carpet cleanse. Placing her books on a private desk, she went and searched through the music section, looking for a specific book.

After passing through _Show Choir Competition Songs_, _Show Choir Legends_, and _Show Choir Record-Breaking Accidents_, Tina had finally found what she was looking for: _Show Choir Rule Book_. She quickly skimmed through the pages until she could find something that aroused her interest. Since her confrontation with Azimio and witnessing the Jane Addams girl fight, Tina's mind was thinking one thing since she got back to glee, and she needed to look through the rulebook for confirmation.

Finally, she found it. She couldn't believe what she was reading, her heart was beating so fast from excitement.

"_Write-in show choirs can be formed and allowed to compete under the signed permission of an elected official, an official sponsor, OR __school administrator__._"

That's when it hit her. She could form her own show choir; her own glee club. It's about time that she had that moment.

**glee**

Tina sat in the lunch hall with the glee kids that next Monday. Blaine had returned to school, playing it off as if he had just come from a cold when everyone really knew that he had skipped out because of his fight with Kurt, but no one chose to call him out. Kurt was happy to have him back nonetheless, and they were both happily sharing a low-carb lunch with each other. Santana was currently devising a plan with Rachel and Artie to confront Sebastian for stealing Michael Jackson from them, as if the King of Pop himself had been kidnapped. Mike was busy talking with Finn and Puck about football or something about kicking a ball. Sam and Mercedes sat on opposite sides of the table with Sam sitting next to Tina (much to the dismay of Mike) and Mercedes sitting with her boyfriend Shane Tinsley. However, the two were still texting each other, with the big-boned diva smiling warmly as the Trouty Mouth teen sent her a cheesy love text. Tina, however, was busying herself with reading through the rulebook, to make sure she can really accomplish this.

According the offical rulebook, if Tina manages to get together twelve enrolled high school students, regardless of what school they are in, and get permission from a school administrator, like Principal Figgins, Tina can compete in Sectionals.

"This is a great idea," Tina whispered to herself.

"What is?" Sam asked, looking up from a particularly flirty text message from Mercedes.

"Nothing; I'm just reading," Tina replied coyly. Before she knew it, the rulebook was snatched out of her hand by Santana, who rifled through the pages uncaringly.

"_Show Choir Rule Book_?" she started as Kurt looked over her shoulder. "Why are you reading this?"

"Uh..."

"Great idea, Tina," Rachel said as she took the book from Santana, "There has to be something in this rulebook about stealing set lists and Michael Jackson!"

"Listen Nose Job," Santana sneered at the Jewish girl, "The way you handle a situation with dirty players like Fievel is by playing dirty right back. I say we hunt him down, take him to the nearest, seedy tattoo parlor and have him get a slutty lower back tattoo that either reads _Tips Appreciated_ or _Congratulations, You're My Thousandth Customer_."

"Something tells me, he already has one of those," Kurt said snidely, making the fake-breasted cheerleader cackle.

"I say we just go in and straight-up kick his stupid, prep school ass," Puck suggested, ready to knock someone out. "No offense, Blaine."

The former Warbler sighed as he played with his veggies that Kurt forced him to eat, a sullen look on his face. "I'm still really sorry, you guys. I thought I could trust Sebastian."

Kurt immediately tensed up, but Santana was the first to talk. "Don't worry, Anderson, we'll show that Little Bitchlet who's boss."

Blaine smiled at the snarky Cheerio as he continued eating his broccoli, although Kurt seemed to have distanced himself from the gel-loving teen, opting to talk to Mercedes instead, making Blaine frown and feel hurt.

"Can I have the book back, Rachel?" Tina asked as the solo-hogging girl gave the rulebook to her. She commenced with her reading, ignoring the food Mike had gotten for her.

"Wanna come and watch me practice again after school?" Sam asked when Mercedes stopped responding to her texts in favor of feeding Shane the remainder of his lunch and simultaneously carrying a conversation with Kurt.

Mike's face quickly darkened, protectively taking Tina's hand in his own before telling Sam, "Actually, I was hoping she would join me at Breadstix. I think it's about time I took _my_ girlfriend out." Mike emphasized the word _my_ to prove his point that he did not like that Sam was moving in on his girl. Tina noticed this and glared subtly at her boyfriend, before turning back to Sam.

"Actually, I have some stuff to do after school," she said simply before packing up her things in her messanger bag.

"What stuff?" Mike asked incredulously.

"Just stuff," Tina replied shortly. "I'll see you guys."

She left the cafeteria by herself, suspicious eyes from the glee kids on her before they resumed with their lunch.

**glee**

Tina walked into her history class by herself this time. Opting to take a seat next to Artie, who was always the earliest to arrive for his classes. She had been thinking all throughout lunch about how she was going to approach Artie with her idea. For the past two years, Tina had taken the time to notice the many topics going around glee club. Normally it revolved around the never-ending drama that was Finchel, Quinn Fabray and her radical behavioral woes, Kurt's latest bullying drama, Santana being mad about something, or Mercedes having yet another diva fit that usually involved Rachel. Artie normally kept away from the drama, opting to be like Tina and watch it from afar. It was almost like the glee club had their own personal soap opera. They should make a show about this.

Tina did, however, notice that Artie was always overlooked many times by the group, who were so wrapped up with their borderline, emotionally-abusive relationships to ever appreciate the contributions members like Artie, Sam and Tina could bring. It pissed her off to no end, and she knew it pissed Artie off as well. None of them ever took the time to truly get to know the paraplegic teen. They didn't know that Artie's favorite movie was _Rear Window_, something she had learned when he invited her over for a movie night back when they were dating. They also didn't know that Artie was allergic to blueberries, which she had found out when she accidently fed him a blueberry muffin. And they most likely didn't know that Artie's dad used to be an accoutant at a law firm before being laid off. And yes, Tina knew first hand (literally) that Artie's penis was functioning correctly. None of them knew or cared about any of those things.

This gave Tina the idea that if she were to start her own club, she'd need a partner-in-crime, and who better than the talented Artie Abrams himself?

"Artie, I need to tell you something."

"You're pregnant?!" Artie asked, his glasses making his widened eyes look almost bug-like. "Is it Mike's?"

"Wait, what? No!"

"It's Puck's?!"

"No!"

"So it's Sam's..."

"Artie, shut up!" Tina took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm not pregnant, and why would you have to ask if it was Mike's? And what do you mean 'so it's Sam's'? Where did that come from?"

"Well, Mike was talking to Finn, Puck, and Blaine and I in the locker room about how he thinks Sam's trying to get into your pants."

"Oh, that Michael Robert Chang is going to get an earful from me, but that's not why I wanted to talk," Tina started heatedly before calming down again, "I wanted to talk to you about an idea I had."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to quit glee."

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me. I am tired of the people in glee being so caught in themselves that they overlook people like us."

"Us? I get to sing..." the AV club teen said as students started piling in.

"But I don't," Tina argued. "And despite the fact that you get to sing, you're still unappreciated. Do you ever get a pat on your back for doing a good job?"

"No..." Artie mumbled, "They usually pat Finn's back."

"Thank you."

"But what is quitting glee going to solve?"

"I've already thought that through." Tina reached into her bag and pulled out the _Show Choir Rule Book_, opened to the page she had been reading over and over, and handed it to Artie.

"_Write-in show choir_?" the wheelchair-bound nerd asked, confused. "What's this about?"

"We form our own glee club," The former goth beamed widely.

Artie, however, looked at her like she was crazy. Shaking his head, he gave the book back to her and said, "No way, that sounds like glee club adultery. We can't do that! Not after just winning Sectionals. It's too risky."

"Artie, you wanted to do Michael Jackson, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"And when Mr. Schue announced that we were going to do it, before the Seblaine-gate drama, who did he say would have the solos?"

Artie chewed his lip nervously, before tentatively replying with a weak, "Blaine and Rachel."

"Not you," Tina replied smugly.

"Is it fair that Blaine and Rachel are getting everything, and we are left holding the bags?" Tina argued, with Artie having nothing to come back with. "And what about next year? Is Blaine going to hog all the solos then? How is that fair to us?" Artie looked forward with a sad look on his face. He really did want to do Michael Jackson, and a part of him was disappointed that he wasn't going to sing at Regionals in favor of letting Blaine and Rachel have a duet to themselves. "Think about it."

Tina didn't say anything else on the matter as Sam took his spot between Tina and Artie, smiling warmly at both of them.

History went by as usual, which means that they learned absolutely nothing. And by the time the bell rang, Mrs. Hagberg already fell asleep during her lecture on how socialists and terrorists are the same thing. Tina offered to wheel Artie to his next class, saying goodbye to Sam as he took off for gym class.

"I'm in," Artie said as soon as Sam was out of sight.

"Yes!"

"But how are we going to form our own glee club? It was hard enough getting one person for New Directions."

"I've got it covered, Artie. We're going to gather together other members from other glee clubs."

"What? You can't do that, can you?" Artie asked as he and Tina entered the school elevator that was used for disabled students such as himself.

"Yes with a signed permission form from a school administrator."

"How did you manage that?" the paraplegic asked, intrigued.

"I have my ways." Tina smirked to herself as she recalled how she got Figgins to sign all the necessary paperwork.

**glee**

_Principal Figgins was having a particularly cheerful day. There weren't many controversies going on today, and the school special only gave three students food poisoning, which means that wasn't enough for a lawsuit. Walking merrily down the hallway, Figgins noticed that he was alone. Shrugging to himself, he continued on down the hall, whistling the theme song to his favorite show, Gilligan's Island. As soon as he turned the corner towards his office, he stopped to see a figure at the very end._

_The figure wore a dark cape that came down to their boots that were visible from the hem. Long black and gold hair fell between the face of the person, who slowly looked up at the Indian administrator. With wide eyes, Figgins stared in shock to see the one and only Tina Cohen-Chang._

_Now previously, he had encountered Ms. Cohen-Chang alone in the hallway twice, both times unpleasant. He had heard rumors that she was a part of an Asian vampire clan, and found himself submissive to her dark soul and intimidation tactics. The Asian girl hissed like a snake as her "vampire fangs" became apparent to him._

_Figgins gasped with shock as he held his hands up in defense, looking like he was about to cry._

_Tina held out the forms that she had scanned from the library on allow her to form a glee club using other school's students._

_"You will sign these permission forms and allow me to make a glee club of my own!" Tina snarled, hissing for effect. "Or I will suck you dry until you are a tasty Indian raisin that I can feast on later!" More hissing._

_Figgins fainted from the shock. Eventually he came to and agreed to sign the papers, hoping that it would appease the vampire princess._

**glee**

"You gotta love our principal's total ineptitude." Tina laughed as she wheeled Artie into his Math class. "Okay, so we'll meet in the parking lot after school. We're going to go glee club hunting."

"See you after school."

"And _don't_ tell anyone," Tina warned, holding out her pinky as Artie took it into his own as a sign of promise. She turned her heel and left Artie's class to get to her own, with a big accomplished smile on her face.

And before Tina knew it, school was over and waiting in the parking lot. Artie had phoned his dad ahead of time to inform him that Tina would be giving him a ride, which made Mr. Abrams hopeful that his son would be getting back together with his former girlfriend. When he had finally arrived, Tina had placed him in the car and placed his wheelchair in the trunk and the two were heading off.

"So where to first?" Artie asked.

"Jane Addams Academy," Tina answered simply as she pulled up to the freeway.

"What?! You're going to get someone from that criminal pit of femme fatales?" Artie asked, terrified. "We're going to get cut!"

"Don't worry, I already have someone who'll be interested," the Asian assured as she drove down without a hint of worry.

"Someone already said they'd join?" Artie asked, surprised.

"Well... no," Tina grumbled before turning to Artie for a split second, "But they'll be interested nonetheless because, like us, they're neglected too."

"Oh boy..."

"Will you relax? I've got it covered," Tina said indignantly as she finally pulled up to the Jane Addams Academy for Juvenile Female Delinquents.

"I hope so," Artie said skeptically as Tina prepped his wheelchair. "What's her name?"

"Her name's Aphasia and she seems like a very sweet girl."

**glee**

"You a good kid, Aphasia," Jane Addams Academy administrator Grace Hitchens asked the young black girl right in front of her. "Why did you stab your parole officer?"

Aphasia Simmons rolled her eyes as she looked directly into her school principal and glee club director. This was her fifth year at Jane Addams, after being held back during her junior year and Ms. Hitchens was trying her best to make sure Aphasia was getting opportunities to succeed in life.

With a loud, sassy voice, Aphasia answered, "Because Ms. Hitchens, he was annoyin' me. He had da nerve to tell me dat I was violatin' my parole by stealin' dat car. I wanted a damn Porsche!"

Sighing to herself, Grace gave up on the girl. "Go back to class." Aphasia stood up. "And gimme yo' switchblade."

Rolling her eyes, the Jane Addams student handed her knife to her club director and headed out the office.

"She had a damn Swiss knife," Grace muttered under breath as she thumbed the weapon disappointedly before putting it in her desk.

By the time Aphasia had left the office, class had already been dismissed and many thuggish-looking females were litering the halls. Aphasia immediately went by her locker to pack up her stuff. Tina and Artie had entered through the front entrance with every intention of finding Aphasia. They were stopped, however, by a few security guards who told them they would have to go through a metal detector as if they were in an airport. Tina's car keys had set the alarm off, and they were quickly confiscated. When Artie tried to get through, the metal spokes on his wheelchair set the alarm off as well, forcing the security guards to take him away into a "special room."

"Help me!" he pleaded as he reached for Tina's hand.

"I'll go look for Aphasia. You stay there," Tina said as she walked down the hall.

"Save me-e-e-e-e!" Artie's voice faded into the next room and eventually his screams were masked by the constant chatter of the Jane Addams girls.

The girls in this school were frightening to look at. Some of them had tattoos in places Tina didn't know you could get tattoos without risking injury, and facial piercing that made you look half robotic. And some of them looked like men. One even tried to hit on her.

"How you doin', Rice Queen?" a butch girl with cornrows, a lip piercing and a face tattoo that was probably supposed to be on her lower back. Her voice was deep, almost like a man's.

Tina scurried away in fear as she tried to search the halls for Aphasia. Feeling that she would never find her on her own, she opted to look for the principal's office when, as luck would have it, she had found her trying to get into her locker. What Tina didn't know was that Aphasia's locker was on the other side of the school and the Bootylicious Angel was actually breaking into another girl's locker. Tina put on her best smile and approached the girl with a cheerful aura around her.

"Excuse me, are you Aphasia?" she asked with a pearly smile.

Aphasia turned to see the out-of-place Asian right next to her, looking her up and down like she was a dead woman walking. "Do I owe you money? 'Cause I got a gun."

"No, no, no!" Tina quickly put her hands up in surrender, "I'm, um, I'm here to offer you a proposition."

Aphasia shook her head no as she finally picked the lock. "Uh uh. Sorry, Ling-Ling, but I'm goin' straight now. I don't rob banks no mo'. I just hold up 7-11's and da occasional Mickie D's for a Spicy McChicken."

"Uh, no. That's not what I meant," Tina said awkwardly, getting more nervous under the other girl's scrutiny. "I was wondering if you wanted to join my glee club?"

"Mm-mm, sorry Pikachu," Aphasia replied, shaking her head, "But I'm already in a glee club. We even got a name too: Bootylicious Angels. Hey-y-y-y! So, I'll see you, Ann Wu." Aphasia took the purse that was inside the locker and quickly looked through it for cash, disappointed to only find a few dollar bills. She then turned her heel towards the exit with the Asian teen following her.

"I know, I saw your glee club at McKinley High," Tina said as she tried to catch up the fast-walking girl, "But I also saw the way they treated you."

Aphasia stopped and turned at the girl with an accusing. "Who da hell are you, Mulan? Some kinda spy? Are you stalkin' me? 'Cause I ain't no lesbian, and if I was, my girlfriend would be Mexican and her name gon' be Roberta and she gon' have lotsa tattoos and a big ass Adam's apple."

"Um, I'm not a lesbian."

"Dat's too bad, Ching-Ching, 'cause my girl Mad Dawg used to eat chop suey in da pen, if you know what I mean?" This was followed by a maniacal cackle and a playful punch to Tina's shoulder. A white hot pain shot through the Asian singer's arm and she quickly squeezed it to stop the pinching feeling. "Tell me somethin'," Aphasia started, "How da hell can you start a glee club with another school's student? Ain't dat illegal? Not that I would have any problem doing somethin' illegal." Another cackle.

"I got a signed permission slip to form a club of my own."

"And you want me? Why?"

"Because I know what it's like to be neglected and tossed to the side," Tina replied with a sad look. "And I'm not going to stand by watch my dreams pass by me."

And for once in her entire nineteen years of life, Aphasia was ironically speechless. Chewing her lip, the black girl looked around the school to see if any of her glee club teammates were watching before she turned back to Tina and asked one thing, "When do y'all meet?"

Tina smiled to herself.

**glee**

After some convincing and reassurance, Tina and Aphasia had exchanged numbers and Tina was off to pick-up Artie from the security office. With a traumatized look, Artie sat in Tina's car in silence until they were away from the campus grounds and down the road. Tina, however, elated from her first successful recruitment, did not notice Artie's terrified stance until she had reached the city limits of Lima, Ohio. By then it was already a quarter 'til five.

"Artie, are you okay?" Tina asked with a raised eyebrow as she saw the frightened appearance of the paraplegic soul singer.

"They thought I was smuggling drugs," Artie croaked. "They gave me a cavity search..." Tina scrunched her face in disgust, feeling sympathetic for the poor boy. "If the next place we stop at has a metal detector, I'm staying in the car."

Tina laughed and after a few seconds, Artie joined her good-naturedly. "Don't worry, Artie. Our next stop is too posh for a metal detector."

"Where's that?"

"Let's just say, we're going to visit some little birdies."

And an hour later, they were in Westerville.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Yay! You know what that means! Your favorite all-boys acapella group will be making an appearance in the next chapter! I love your reviews guys. It makes me glad to know that you're still reading and not bored out of your mind. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far.


	5. Firework

**Author's Comments**: Thanks for the love. Your positive feedback gives me motivation to keep this going. So, some of you have already guessed that Jeff is the Warbler that Tina and Artie are going to want to look at to recruit. Maybe it had something to do with what I said in the first chapter or the fact that he's on the character thing next to Tina's name. LOL. But for those who would like to know, let's talk about the most neglected Warbler of the bunch: our good pal Jeffrey. Of all the Warblers, Jeff is in fact the most neglected one. Let's go down the list, shall we? Kurt, obvious. Blaine and Sebastian were the HWIC (Head Warblers in Charge), Wes and David had some nice screen time with Blainers in Never Been Kissed (2x06) along with the fact that they were head councilmen with Thad. Thad was not only a councilman ("You mock us, sir!") but he also got a solo in a song, _Uptown Girl_ (love that song BTW). Trent had a few funny lines in the show (Dom Barnes is just adorable), even showing some concern for Blainey in Michael (3x10). And of course, Nick was the main lead in _Uptown Girl_. So what did Jeff get? One line, actually not even a line, a word ("Six.") and some background dancing. He auditioned six times and still got no song? Talk about salt in the wound. Poor baby. And let's all be honest with each other, we love Jeff the most out of all the non-Blaine/Kurt/Sebastian Warblers, and we're all in love with Riker Lynch as well. Also some other good news: Ryan Murphy says the Warblers are back for Season 4! Anyway, the beginning part of this chapter was inspired by the deleted _I Want You Back_ scene, except it involves Tina! Enjoy the chapter guys because it's super cute, like Jeff!

**Featured Pairings**: Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), unrequited!Seblaine (Sebastian/Blaine), unrequited!Tiff (Tina/Jeff)

**Warnings**: Coarse language, suggestive content

* * *

**Chapter Five  
****You Don't Have to Feel Like a Waste of Space, You're Original, Cannot Be Replaced  
****("Firework" by Katy Perry)**

* * *

Tina pulled up to the gates and into the parking lot of Dalton Academy. The school grounds was very much like a college campus in the United Kingdom, ancient and seasoned that added to the decor and beauty of the entire school. Tina wheeled Artie up the stone pathway towards the school's front entrance.

"This place is one Hogwarts letter from Harry Potter," Tina remarked, half-expecting to see boys fly out on broomsticks.

"I feel poor around these guys," Artie stated as he and Tina rolled past several Dalton students in their tight, navy blazers and striped ties, all of them looking very clean-cut and pristine.

"Don't worry, we won't be here long."

"Are you sure we can get someone from the Warblers? Isn't this bad timing considering..." Artie trailed off, knowing what he meant. And that was a good question, with Regionals so close for the Warblers, why would any of them defect to the lower members of New Directions?

Tina shook her head at the thought. It didn't matter to her, the worst they could say was no, so she had to at least try. Tina put on her best smile as she asked one of the prep school boys if she knew where the Warblers were practicing, under the guise that Tina was one of their girlfriends and Artie was a brother of one of the members. In good spirits, the boy told them that they were just around the corner, so Tina and Artie took off merrily toward Warbler practice, bright smiles on their faces. They were in such a good mood; it seemed nothing would bring their spirits down!

"Oh—" Tina started, mouth hanging.

"Shit." Artie finished, his mouth also hanging.

"Tina?" Rachel Berry asked in shock as she, Santana, Kurt, and Blaine bumped into the duo in the same hallway where the Warblers were busy practicing for Regionals.

"Artie? What are you guys doing here?" Kurt inquired, his arm protectively wrapped around Blaine's.

Tina was speechless as was Artie. The former Goth attempted to say something, but it came out as a nervous stutter. No faking this time. "Um, well, uh, you see, uh..." Tina managed to get out. "Artie..." she pointed to the kid in the wheelchair before continuing, "...was so upset about the, uh, Warblers stealing Michael, that, um..."

"That... I wanted to come here and confront them!" Artie finished, quickly covering for Tina who nodded her head furiously in agreement, hoping that they'd fall for it.

Santana raised an eyebrow at the former couple, and Rachel Berry was staring Tina down with such intensity. Kurt and Blaine just looked clueless. After a few seconds of silence, Santana broke the tension with a good-natured laugh. "That takes a lot of guts! I didn't think you had it in you, Professor X!"

Tina and Artie laughed nervously, which came out as strangled chuckling.

"Well, come with us!" Santana demanded as she grabbed Artie's wheelchair handles from Tina and pushed the paraplegic towards the Warbler room that Blaine had led them to. As Tina approached the room, she heard the faint, upbeat sound that she knew was unmistakably The Jackson 5's famous song, _I Want You Back_.

Immediately, Santana twisted her face in anger at hearing what would've been a Troubletones number, as if that Timone-looking brat was rubbing salt in her wounds. She huffed and stomped over to where the Warblers were currently doing a dance number.

_**(Sebastian with the Warblers)  
**__When I had you to myself  
__I didn't want you around  
__Those pretty faces always made you  
__Stand out in the crowd  
__But someone picked you from the bunch  
__One glance was all it took  
__Now it's much too late for me  
__To take a second look_

The tall Warbler was singing and dancing perfectly with his acapella background group, all of them twisting and gyrating in unison with their lead Warbler's singing. Tina could easily tell from the way the mousy-looking teen smirked that he was singing this particular song to Blaine, the gay Warbler's eyes filled with lust as he eyed the former Warbler up and down, which made not only Blaine uncomfortable but Kurt as well, who looked like he was ready to pounce and scratch Sebastian's emerald green eyes out.

_**(Sebastian with the Warblers)  
**__Oh baby, give me one more chance  
__To show you that I love you__  
Won't you please send me back in your heart  
__Oh darlin' I was blind to let you go  
__But now since I see you in his arms_

Blaine did not engage or encourage this behavior; instead he opted to roll his eyes anytime Sebastian came at him and rolled his hips suggestively at him. Tina wondered if the head Warbler really thought he had a shot of getting into Blaine's pants. Hell, Tina knew Kurt and Blaine for months and even she knew that it was difficult for those two to get into each other's pants, they were both so wound up tight. They only had sex the one time, something that really didn't surprise Tina. Sebastian was wasting his time; Blaine was about as virginal as a non-virgin could get. Why Sebastian is so smitten with him, Tina will never know.

_**(The Warblers)  
**__I want you back  
_(_**Sebastian**__: Yes I do now_)  
_I want you back  
_(_**Sebastian**__: Ooh, baby, baby_)  
_I want you back_

The song was over and Blaine shook his head disappointedly as Kurt crossed his arms and gave Sebastian his best bitch glare. Sebastian, however, still smirked confidently at the group of public school kids.

"If you wanna forfeit now, just say so," the head Warbler asked smugly with an aggressively arrogant tone, green eyes boring into hazel as he continued. "Or _Blaine_, if you wanna rejoin the group you abandoned?" Meerkat-face practically licked his lips lustfully at the short, bushy-eyebrowed teen.

Rolling his eyes, Blaine walked forward towards Sebastian, "You know, I used to be proud of being a Warbler, not because we were good but because we were classy. And none of that was classy."

Sebastian seemed unfazed as Blaine and the group made their way toward the exit, Tina reluctantly following. "And what did you think, Sha-queer-a?" Sebastian asked who Tina assumed was Santana.

Santana glared at him before putting on a confident face. "I thought you sucked, Fievel," she said, which made the Warbler laugh. "If that's your best MJ, I'm going to wipe the floor at Regionals with your wannabe-Disney Prince haircut."

Santana, Blaine, Kurt, and Rachel all left the room, and Tina swore she could've heard Blaine and Santana whispering to each other about having some serious problems. Tina and Artie were standing (well, Tina was standing) awkwardly like deer in headlights in the room with the other Warblers as they all stared daggers at them. Sebastian's cold glare scared the crap out of them as he took a step forward and snarled out a, "Is there something we could help you with, Steven Hawking and Cho Chang?"

"Uh, no, we're, uh, good..." Tina said nervously.

"Then, uh, uh, uh, get the fuck out," the Warbler mocked cruelly as he turned to his acapella group. "Alright, fifteen minute coffee break and then back here to practice! HURRY UP, BREEDERS! MOVE IT!" Immediately the Warblers scrambled out of the room, passing Tina and Artie along the way.

"Um, Sebastian?" a cute, blonde Warbler bravely (or stupidly) walked up to the cruel, gay Warbler. "Can we talk? It's about what we talked about the other day..."

"Jeffrey," Sebastian said calmly, though Tina knew fake when she heard it, she was in New Directions with Rachel Berry after all. "I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to sing."

"But you said—"

"No, I said I'd like to see you work that pretty mouth of yours," Sebastian remarked suggestively, almost shamelessly. "I wasn't talking about your _singing_."

"Sebastian, you know I'm not gay," Jeff defended truthfully, clearly understanding what the head Warbler was implying.

"Please, your secret relationship with Nick is about as apparent as Anderson and Gay Face not having sex very often."

"No, really, we aren't gay."

"Whatever you say, Bottom Boy, but you're still not getting a solo so leave me alone; I'm bored with you already," Sebastian sneered and laughed at Jeff's sullen face as he made his way toward the exit.

Jeff sighed as he stood there by himself, unbuttoning his blazer before making his way out the door. As he walked out, he was stopped by Tina, who was hiding behind the doors, hearing the entire conversation.

"Hi!" she said, surprising the blonde Warbler.

"Uh, hi," Jeff said before smiling at the beautiful Asian.

Artie furrowed his eyebrows as he saw this exchange, sneaking glances at both of the teens, smirking.

"My name's Tina Cohen-Chang," Tina introduced with a bright smile, "And this is Artie Abrams."

Jeff let out a goofy laugh. "Uh, I-I'm Jeff."

"I was watching you guys," Tina started, "You guys are awesome. Do you sing?"

"Wait, aren't you in New Directions?" Jeff asked curiously.

"I'm going to go over there and, uh..." Artie started awkwardly, "... do something." The wheelchair kid wheeled away down the hall, leaving the two teens to talk things out.

"C-can I ask why you're here?" Jeff asked.

"Sure, but do you want to get some coffee with me?" Tina asked sweetly.

"YES!" the blonde burst out, almost startling the girl. "Uh, I mean. Sure." Jeff started to blush casually before smiling and chuckling awkwardly.

It was then Tina realized that the blonde boy liked her. Like _liked her, liked her_. She suddenly felt a warm feeling of flattery and couldn't help but smile. _I still got it_, Tina thought to herself. Being with Mike did wonders for her confidence. If Tina could get a football player with amazing abs like Mike, she felt like she could get anyone. And if rumors were true, Sam was feeling her as well. _All these boys just for me? How can a girl survive?_ Tina laughed to herself, earning a curious glance from the shy Warbler. Regardless, the male singer took the Asian girl's hand and led her to the cafeteria.

Dalton boys certainly don't know what good coffee taste like, because this cup of brown shit water tasted awful. Tina scrunched her face as she drowned her coffee in creamer and sugar, hoping to get rid of that bitter taste, and she eventually ended up with a caramel-looking colored drink that did not look appealing in the least. She looked up at the cute, blonde Warbler and studied his face. Jeff had been staring at her but immediately looked back to his coffee, a mad blush on his face.

"You're cute," Tina said suddenly, though she really didn't know why she had said it. Maybe she was trying to butter him up. That's it.

Jeff's pale face became even redder. All of a sudden, his Dalton blazer was way too hot and his pants were too tight. "Uh, th-thanks." he stuttered, "Y-you're...pretty."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes," Jeff squealed out, his voice higher pitched than normal.

"Do you like being a Warbler?"

Jeff then suddenly stopped blushing, and instead of nervousness, his face contorted in confusion. "Huh?"

"Do you like being a Warbler?" she repeated.

"Yes, it's the best feeling in the world," he answered automatically.

"Well, do you ever sing?" Tina pressed.

"Um, I audition for solos," Jeff answered, still confused.

"But have you ever sung in a competition?"

Jeff didn't say anything and instead he shook his head.

"I saw the way Sebastian treated you. Are you sure you like being a Warbler?"

"Yes, it's the best feeling in the world," he repeated, almost robotically.

Tina sighed, before taking Jeff's hand in hers. "Singing with the New Directions used to be the best feeling the world for me, too," she started, "But some people have made it unbearable nowadays. There are times when I try so hard and I'm still underappreciated. And no matter how hard I try, I'm left with nothing while other people get to shine brighter than me. I noticed that Blaine was always singing lead in your group." Jeff nodded his head. "Yeah, well he's always singing lead in our group too. It seems Mr. Schue has creamed his pants for Blaine Anderson and everyone else is just drooling over him as well. And I'm just sick of it, dude. So now I've decided to go off on my own."

"Yeah, everyone did flock around Blaine back when he was in the Warblers," Jeff said sadly, "When he left, I actually thought I had a shot at getting a solo instead of just auditioning and making it to the second round only for the head councilmen to agree that Blaine should get the solo."

"Didn't you ever get tired of it?"

Jeff was silent again. A part of him felt like he was betraying his Warbler buddies by having this conversation and he definitely didn't want to bash his friend Blaine. He looked over his shoulder to see if any of his Warbler friends were watching him, only to be frustrated that all of the Dalton Academy students looked exactly the same.

"I don't think I should be talking to you," Jeff said as he tried to get up, disappointed that Tina wasn't actually interested him. He wanted a girlfriend so bad, just to prove to Sebastian and everyone that he wasn't gay.

"Please!" Tina grabbed his jacket sleeve and looked at him with puppy dog eyes, hoping that it works for her like it does Mike.

Jeff's heart melted. He didn't even know this girl, and she definitely didn't seem like she was interested in him, but damn it did he fall hard for her in less than a minute. He sat back down and sighed. "What did you want to talk about?"

Tina explained the entire story to him. Her problems with Rachel Berry and Blaine, her boyfriend troubles (which Jeff was extremely disappointed to hear that she was already taken, though why wouldn't a girl as beautiful as her have a boyfriend?), she explained her outburst and her confrontation with school bully Azimio, and then she explained her plan to create her own glee club and how she was able to do it. Jeff sat there in shock after hearing her story, and immediately felt for the girl, knowing how exactly how she felt. And even he had to admit that he was jealous of Kurt Hummel getting a duet with Blaine last year. Why? Because Blaine requested it. Suddenly, he started to feel bitter as he was reminded of all the times he was sidelined because of everybody's undying love for Blaine Anderson or Sebastian's cruel tyranny. Suddenly, he was sick of it, too.

"Jeff!" a voice called, making the two teens jump. Tina turned to see a boy with shaggy-looking dark hair. "Warbler practice has started already! Sebastian's pissed. Let's go!"

"Oh, uh, coming Nick," Jeff said awkwardly as he got up. He felt Tina grab his arm again, taking out a piece of paper and scribbling her number.

"Call me?" she asked as she handed it to Jeff.

Nick looked at the scene from afar, suddenly feeling proud that his best friend finally got a date (and dispel those rumors that they we're screwing on the side). He might even get laid. However, as the Asian girl handed his friend her number, he noticed there was something familiar about her, and that's when it hit him.

"Hey," Nick pointed to her, "You're that Asian girl from New Directions with Blaine and Kurt!"

"Her name is Tina," Jeff corrected, surprising himself and the two teens. He looked back at Tina with a mesmerized look in his eyes as she stared back at him with her big brown eyes (natural, of course). "Tina Cohen-Chang," he said dreamily before leaving with his friend to Warbler practice.

Tina was shocked to learn the cute Warbler actually remembered her name. _That's a first_, she thought, _Most people tend to refer to me by some racist Asian name or an Asian celebrity_. She stood there for a few minutes before realizing something. Where the hell was Artie?

**glee**

"Where were you again?" Tina asked as she drove down the road towards Lima.

"In some first year's dorm room, smoking some weed," Artie said simply as he went into giggle fits.

"ARTIE!"

"What?" Artie laughed. "Live a little! We're rebels now!"

Rolling her eyes, Tina kept on driving until they reached Lima's city limits. It was already getting dark and their parents are going to wonder where they were, so she decided to call it a day. After dropping Artie off at his house, she was invited to dinner with the Abrams, which she kindly declined, saying that she had to get home and do homework. In reality, she really did have homework but she didn't want to stay there and explain why Artie is giggling like a school girl watching a muscular guy work out. As she tried her best to attempt to try doing her Calculus homework, she received a text message from an unknown number.

**From:** 419-555-5333 (Dec 19 8:52PM)  
_Tina?_

Tina stared at the text message for a while. She debated on answering, wondering if it was a stalker or a psycho killer. Plucking up the courage to reply, she hit the send button waiting for a response.

**To:** 419-555-5333 (Dec 19 8:57PM)  
_Yes. Who is this?_

**From:** 419-555-5333 (Dec 19 8:59PM)  
_It's Jeff_

Tina softened, smiling to herself as she laughed at how silly she was. Entering Jeff's name into her contacts, she quickly sent him a reply.

**To:** Jeff Warbler (Dec 19 9:01PM)  
_Jeff! What's up? :)_

**From:** Jeff Warbler (Dec 19 9:02PM)  
_I'm in._

Tina practically screamed in excitement as she sent her reply about how happy she was to have him, which she knew would make the boy blush like crazy.

That's two down, four members total. Only eight more to go.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Sorry if this chapter was shorter than usual, but it's SO cute! Jeffy loves Tina! Awww. He's so cute! I want Tiff (that's the ship name I created, post that on Tumblr because that's official now, LOL!) to happen on the show now. Okay, so what did you guys think? Good chapter? Great chapter? Bad chapter? I love the feedback. Have a very Warbler day.

**Songs Featured**:  
"I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5. Sung by Sebastian and The Warblers.


	6. Best Thing I Never Had

**Author's Comments**: Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm glad you're liking it so far. This chapter is a little longer and more mature than the last ones. A lot of cussing and some very suggestive content for you guys. But not enough to warrant an M-rating, so it's all good. I'm going to introduce Joe in this chapter and feature a lot more Roz Washington (I love that lady! NeNe Leakes is so hilarious!). And we've got some drama ahead and some cute moments too. And Tina and Artie dodge a serious bullet in this one, you'll see. Unfortunately for you Jeff fans, he won't appear in this chapter, but he will in the next one. I promise.

**Featured Pairings**: Tike (Tina/Mike), Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Brittana (Brittany/Santana), Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), Shanecedes (Shane/Mercedes), unrequited!Quoe (Quinn/Joe), flirtatious!Samtina (Sam/Tina)

**Warnings**: Strong coarse language, suggestive content

* * *

**Chapter Six  
****Thank God I Dodged A Bullet, I'm So Over You So Baby Good Looking Out  
****("Best Thing I Never Had" by Beyoncé)**

* * *

Tina and Artie were walking (well, Tina was walking) side-by-side the next day with bright smiles on their faces. They were talking animatedly with each other about how they'll rally together a glee club in no time at the rate they were going.

"I think we should try someone at Vocal Adrenaline," Tina suggested to Artie, who looked skeptical at the thought of one of those soulless automatons defecting from their group.

"I don't know; I think they'll be too loyal to their school," Artie argued.

"But if anyone knows what it's like to be pushed aside in favor of someone more 'talented'," Tina used air quotes to emphasize her point. "It's definitely them." Artie nodded as he tried to keep up to the over-excited Asian girl's strides. "Jeff and I were talking last night, and he thinks it's a good idea—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Artie started as he stopped his wheelchair in front of Tina, blocking her pathway. He looked up at his former girlfriend with a knowing smirk. "You _and_ Jeff were talking last night?"

"Yeah, so?"

The wheelchair nerd's smirk grew even bigger as he kept on rolling down the hall, his grin even more apparent, leaving the Asian confused. Tina caught up to him as they made their way towards glee. Tina had decided last night on the way that they should still stay in New Directions until they were able to get all twelve members together. Artie took his place in the front section next to Quinn, who was currently carrying a conversation about religion with some hippie dude with major hair problems. He was kind of gangly-looking and his hair was long and twisted into dreads, almost looking like a giant spider was eating his head. Scary.

"Hey, Quinn," Tina greeted as she dropped her bag behind her usual chair.

"Yo, Q," Sam called out from his seat next to Tina. Since the two had grown so close, he seemed to have taken a permanent spot next to the Asian singer which did not make Mike happy at all. "Who's Tarantula Head?" Sam nodded a head towards the lanky teen next to her.

"This is Joseph Hart," she stated softly, "He just transferred in yesterday and he joined the God Squad with me and Mercedes." Quinn then shot a glare at the big-lipped blonde. "And why weren't _you_ there yesterday, Samuel Evans?"

"I have synchronized swimming practice!" Sam shot back in a singy-song voice, smiling at Tina, who giggled at him. From his spot behind Kurt and Blaine, Mike was either mentally strangling Sam or mentally stabbing him. Maybe mentally burning him alive.

"The things men do for a stupid jacket," Quinn remarked as she turned her attention back to Joseph to continue their ever-so interesting talk about their favorite bible verses.

"Coach Washington's really laying it on us at practice," Sam said, trying to spark a conversation.

"For _synchronized_ swimming?" Tina asked skeptically, trying her best not to laugh.

"She keeps going on and on about her Olympic medal in Beijing and how she had a one-night stand with Michael Phelps." This made the two friends burst out laughing, and Mike decided that he'd had enough. He stalked over to where Tina and Sam sat and interrupted their conversation.

"Hey, _babe_," Mike said, almost as if he was taunting Sam, "You didn't text me back last night."

"Yeah, I was real tired last night," Tina replied in a bored tone.

"What did you do?" Mike pressed, subtly glaring at Sam, though the blonde did not notice. The Asian break dancer was ready to knock Sam's teeth out of his big mouth if he had anything to do with Tina being "tired" last night.

"I went to Westerville with Artie to confront the Warblers," Tina said half-honestly. She figured she would tell him the half-truth in case Santana or Rachel mentioned something about the other night.

Mike's eyes widened in surprise, as did Sam's. They pressed her for more information, but she remained vague. It was too early to tell the group that she was going to be leaving glee for her own club. A part of her doesn't want to leave and just pretend everything is okay, while sneaking around behind their backs. Eventually, they'd have to know. Maybe after her write-in show choir finishes their Sectionals. Still, she was getting ahead of herself. She needed to form the choir first.

"Well, that's weird," came the confused voice of Will Schuester as he walked in with a curious look his face as he eyed an important looking letter in his hands that he had just opened as soon as he got into the choir room.

"What's the matter Mr. Schue?" Rachel asked as she walked in, her hand clutched firmly in Finn's hand.

"I just got this notice from Principal Figgins about my opponents for Sectionals in early January," Schuester started, completely clueless, "He said it was a notice for my _write-in_ choir."

Shit. Shit. Shit. Fuck. Tina's eyes widened as Artie grew pale. Holy shit fuck! Why didn't Tina think of this earlier? Of course Principal Figgins would give Mr. Schuester the notice about her write-in choir's opponents! She didn't have a faculty sponsor yet! She didn't have anyone to take the important notices, so Figgins probably assumed that this was Mr. Schue's idea! Shit fuck! Tina tried her best to keep cool as she watched the scene unfold. Rachel quickly stomped over to where Will was and snatched the paper from his hands. Tina almost pissed herself; she hoped to all the Gods out there, Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Morgan Freeman, whoever will listen, that her name was not on that paper or she was screwed.

"It says that our opponents are the Columbus High's Oral Ascension and the West Lima High's Treblemakers," Rachel read aloud as all eyes looked on curiously. "I don't understand. I thought we were going against the Warblers and the Golden Goblets."

"I'll just go ask Principal Figgins what this is about." Mr. Schue took the paper from Rachel and made for the exit. Tina had to think fast. Otherwise the jig would be up.

"Wait!" Tina called out as she ran to the middle of the choir room, looking frantic. Everyone turned their attention to Tina, and suddenly she felt the need to throw-up.

_Oh, my God, Tina! They're all looking at you like you got caught with your panties down_, Tina's mind screamed to her. _Say something, you idiot, before they find out_.

"SEBASTIAN DID THIS!"

_Good job, Cohen-Chang_.

"Uh—what?" Will looked at his Asian female member with an even bigger clueless look.

"I overheard Sebastian plotting with one of the Warblers that they were, uh, going to pull a prank on us!" Tina said, almost yelled. She was breathing heavily like she had been running and she must have looked like a crazy person. "He said so he could screw with our minds!"

Dead silence. Nothing but Tina's heavy breathing could be heard in the quiet choir room. Maybe Tina will wet herself after all. Santana's mouth was hanging, her eyebrows furrowed. Brittany had a clueless look on her face (so maybe she was acting normal). Everyone else looked shocked, except the new guy, who just looked completely confused as to what was going on. Artie sat there like he was about to faint. Tina was about ready to cry before she jumped out of her skin when someone spoke.

"Oh, my God! What assholes!" Artie said suddenly, though he didn't sound very convincing to the intelligent mind. Good thing he was preaching to the right choir. He was hoping that if he agreed with her assessment, everyone else will bandwagon off him and agree as well. Evidently, his plan worked.

"Those little posh boy shit stains!" Puck snarled, before turning to Blaine, "No offense, Anderson."

"Well, that was a lame-ass prank," Santana sneered as she sat back in her seat and put her hand on Brittany's thigh. "Rich kids, man."

A sweating and breathless Tina looked at Artie with eternal appreciation as she mouthed a truly sincere "thank you" to him.

"Something seems fishy," Rachel said suspiciously as her eyes scanned the paper fervently. "Why does it say _write-in_ show choir? What is that anyway?"

Tina snatched the paper from Rachel in mid-read, crumpling it up and tossing it in the waste basket. "Oh, Rachel, you're paranoid. Obviously Sebastian is trying to distract you to get you off your A-game so you can choke at Regionals! Do you want him to win and prove you're as a big a loser as you look?"

"No way!" Rachel shouted indignantly, and Tina was grateful that she didn't catch the insult. "You are absolutely right, Tina. That Sebastian Smythe is not going to trick us this time! Write-in show choir! As if there was such a thing!"

Tina laughed awkwardly as she took her seat back between Sam and Mike, the latter of whom was still glaring at Sam as he made small talk with his girlfriend. She gave Artie one last thankful look as Mr. Schue went on about his plans for Regionals.

"Before we start, Quinn would like to take the floor to say a few things." Schuester let the perky blonde stride elegantly to the front of the club.

She pointed to her dreadlocked friend, who was sitting there, still looking homeless with his guitar in hand. "This is my new friend Joseph Hart, but you can call him Joe." Joe waved at the group with a tripped out look on his face. "We met in the courtyard when he was singing _This Little Light of Mine_, and I thought he would make a perfect addition to our group. He's got an amazing voice."

"Did you come from space?" Brittany asked, "You look like those guys from that John Travolta movie with the big tongues and funny hair."

"Uh, no," Joe laughed. "I was actually homeschooled all my life and when I realized that my best friend was my mom, I decided that I wanted to go to public school."

"Virgin," Santana whispered to Brittany, who giggled before suggesting that she should take the new "girl's" virginity, an idea that was shot down immediately by a jealous Santana.

"So, I guess I just want go out and see the world. By the way, I hope you don't mind if I take off my shoes." Joe immediately slipped his rainbow sandals off, showing off his pretty bare feet. "I'm so used to going to school barefoot."

"He's like a Teen Jesus," Sam remarked, which made Tina giggle as she stared at the back of the quirky teen's head. She could not get over that hair! How brave. But then again, she used to have blue hair. She then noticed that the said Teen Jesus was stealing appreciative glances at Quinn. Tina smirked to herself, knowing that if the Bob Marley-looking teen wanted to get with Quinn, he'll be sorely disappointed._ Oh to be young and feel love's keen sting_. Damn, she just quoted Dumbledore. Tina should've never let Blaine force her to watch all of the Harry Potter movies. Gelmet Head was way too obsessed with those films. For whatever reason...

"Alright, Joe, welcome to New Directions," Schuester smiled at the religious teen.

"Righteous," Teen Jesus nodded, earning a few giggles from his teammates.

"Well, guys, I think we should get started on song ideas for Regionals," Mr. Schue started, before being bombarded with many song ideas for a _solo_ from one Rachel Berry.

**glee**

"I can't believe we actually pulled that off," Tina said as she accompanied Artie to the lunch hall, "How could they fall for such an obvious lie?"

"They're led by Finn, the guy who thought he could get a girl pregnant via hot tub, and Rachel Berry, the girl who thinks she's loved by all," Artie remarked, Tina nodding in understanding as they entered the lunch line.

"That was too big of a close call though," Tina pointed out as she picked up a plate of what was probably supposed to be a chicken breast for Artie and got some mysterious looking stew for herself, "We're gonna need a sponsor." Artie nodded his head in agreement. "Someone who can keep quiet," Tina added.

"Boy, you better get yo' hands off dat girl's booty!" scolded an enraged Roz Washington as she caught some mullet-sporting puckhead and his Cheerio girlfriend making out by the salad bar, "And if you know what's best for you, Billy Ray Cyrus, you would get a decent haircut dat didn't cost less than eight dollars at da children's babershop and get yourself a job dat'll teach you a thing or two 'bout public indecency. And you, Miss Fast-and-Easy, you better not be lettin' no boy get all up on you and yo' lovely lady lumps, and work on dat celibacy plea, because before you know it, you'll be poppin' out a child with a Bret Michaels mullet and starring in a one-episode segment on da newest season of _Teen Mom_. Now, do you want dat to happen to you? I don't think you do. Now get!"

The two teens scurried out of the lunch room, faces red with embarrassment as they were followed by a series of laughter. "Alright, y'all," Roz turned back to the laughing students, "Get back to eating yo' expired and unhealthy lunches." Coach Washington exited the room, a crowd of students parting like the Red Sea for her to pass.

Tina and Artie looked back at each other and shook their heads. "Not her," they agreed in unison as they made their way to the glee club table.

Joe had joined the table crew, sitting next to Quinn, who was starting to show signs of annoyance at the boy's clingy behavior and constant talk of penance and other fancy biblical terms that made no sense to Tina. Mercedes was sitting at the jocks table with Shane, Azimio Adams, and a bunch of other hefty-looking linebackers, enjoying the unnaturally colorful goop they called lunch. This made Sam depressed as he watched them from afar. He tried to spark a conversation with Mike but the break dancer kept ignoring him, opting to talk to Finn and Puck about Sports Center last night instead. Santana and Brittany were trying their best to ignore Rachel's constant babbling about her solo for Regionals. Interestingly, Blaine was sitting by himself with no one to talk to, glumly playing with his food (or maybe he was trying to kill it since it looked like it was moving).

Not wanting to talk to Mike as she was still upset with him, she decided to have small talk with Blaine as Artie joined in on the sports talk with the boys. "So Blaine, where's Kurt?"

"We kind of got into another disagreement and he decided to skip lunch and practice for Regionals in the auditorium," Blaine replied, looking up at her sadly, "I wanted to go with him, but he said he wanted to be alone."

"Is Kurt your best friend?" Joe asked with an intrigued voice.

Blaine raised a furry eyebrow, not sure how to break it to the religious teen, who clearly had no experience with the gay community. "Um, Joe," Blaine started politely, "Kurt's my, uh, _boyfriend_."

"Boyfriend?" Joe repeated, confused.

"Yeah, _boyfriend_," Santana smirked evilly at the innocent teen. "As in 'boy meets boy, boy likes boy, boy eats out boy's asshole'."

"Santana!" Blaine cried, blushing red. Joe looked terrified as he immediately did the sign of the cross.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. You and Kurt are no fun," Santana rolled her eyes. "Come on, Anderson, you're a hot piece of ass and Kurt's somewhat pretty in a sober Michael Alig kind of way. How can you not be humping each other like rabbits?"

"That's personal!" Blaine hissed angrily through clenched teeth, blush still evident as he stuffed his face with his lunch, ignoring the bad taste in his mouth from the disgusting meal. Seriously, why would they serve this shit?

"So, Joe," Santana looked back at the Teen Jesus, who was staring at the two in shock. "What do you think about that? Two people of the same sex _fucking_—well, not those two, of course. But me and Brittany go at it like two gorillas in heat."

"I like monkeys," Brittany quipped, as she giggled when Santana traced a seductive finger up and down her lap.

"So?" the feisty Latina started. "Two girls—"

"One cat," the blonde Cheerio finished. "His name's Lord Tubbington and he likes to smoke crack. He also has a drinking problem."

Joe looked at the girl with a confused look as Quinn rolled her eyes at her former cheermate's randomness. Santana, still being the evil cheerleader that she was, planted a nice, wet kiss in front of Joe, who looked extremely uncomfortable at the sight. The fake-breasted teen looked back at him and asked with a smirk, "Does that bother you?"

Everyone turned to Joe to see his reaction.

"Uh, um, _no_."

"Too bad," Santana rolled her eyes, seeing as she wouldn't be having any more fun and instead opted to nuzzle Brittany's neck shamelessly as a bunch of mullet-wearing hockey players watched from afar with stupid, lusty looks on their faces.

"Ignore her, Joe," Tina said to the frightened newbie, "She's Satan's daughter." Santana stuck her tongue out at the former Goth, before sticking it into Brittany's mouth, earning several cat calls from the puckheads. Joe's eyes widened like saucers from Tina's comments as he looked back at the Latina and her airheaded girlfriend in fear.

"Not really, dude," Tina laughed as she saw Joe's face soften in relief. "Figure of speech."

**glee**

Tina and Artie were sitting in Mrs. Hagberg's class again with Sam trying his best to take notes while the other two teens were texting each other discreetly. Thankfully, Mrs. Hagberg's vision was starting to go and she wouldn't notice that the former couple was not paying any attention to her racist, political rants.

**To:** Artie Abrams (Dec 20 1:44PM)  
_We seriously need to find a sponsor fast._

**From:** Artie Abrams (Dec 20 1:45PM)  
_I know, but who would take the job?_

**To:** Artie Abrams (Dec 20 1:45PM)  
_Maybe someone from the drama program?_

**From:** Artie Abrams (Dec 20 1:46PM)  
_No way. I heard Sandy Ryerson is back as department head. My good parts don't feel safe around him._

**To:** Artie Abrams (Dec 20 1:47PM)  
_Well what are we supposed to do?_

**From:** Artie Abrams (Dec 20 1:48PM)  
_Maybe we can get Hagberg to do it?_

Tina looked up at her teacher as the aging woman mispronounced several words and mistook Thomas Jefferson for Abraham Lincoln. Tina didn't even know how those two names even came up in this lesson. They were supposed to be talking about Holocaust. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Tina opened up a new message she got when she felt her phone vibrate in her hands.

**From:** Artie Abrams (Dec 20 1:51PM)  
_Nvm_

**To:** Artie Abrams (Dec 20 1:51PM)  
_Lmfao._

Tina silently chuckled, which caught Sam's eyes. "What are you two texting about?" he asked curiously, giving up on his notes. It was just too much work and he couldn't spell half the things Mrs. Hagberg was talking about.

"Just making fun of Hagberg," Tina answered honestly. "We're also just thinking up song ideas."

"Cool, what have you come up with?"

"Nothing great," Artie piped in, looking at Tina with a knowing smirk. Tina nudged the paraplegics arm, knowing exactly what the junior was implying.

"You know I've been thinking about that letter Sebastian supposedly sent in glee today," Sam started, making Tina and Artie shoot their heads up in panic. "I just don't buy that it was Sebastian, you know? I figured a guy from a fancy school like his would've come up with something a little more clever."

"Uh, Sam are you practicing for synchronized swimming today?" Tina asked, hoping to change the subject. The blonde Trouty Mouth nodded, completely forgetting about what he was talking about. "Can I come?"

Sam smiled widely, before nodding his head. Artie nudged Tina's arm, wiggling his eyes suggestively, earning a glare from the former Goth. Again with this. She may have flirted with the idea, but any fool could see that Sam was in love with Mercedes. There was no way Sam could have a crush on her. Absolutely, no way! The bell took forever to ring, and before Tina knew it she was off to her next class with Sam being kind enough to walk her. She may not believe that Sam was going crazy over her, but she did like the idea of them. What would they be called though? Finn and Rachel have Finchel, Kurt and Blaine had Klaine, and Brittany and Santana had Brittana. So what would Sam and Tina be? Samtina? Tam? Samina? Tim?

"I like Tim," Tina unintentionally saying that aloud.

"Who's Tim?" Sam asked.

"Uh, Tim Allen! I'm a huge _Home Improvement_ fan."

"Oh."

_Nice one, Cohen-Chang_, Tina scolded herself. _Why are you even thinking that anyway? You're with Mike, even if he has been a butthole lately_.

**glee**

Tina found herself sitting on the bleachers again in the McKinley High pool building for the second time, enjoying the intense practice session. She had to admit, even though she and Sam would never get together, she didn't mind the view of Sam in his tight swim shorts. That boy had quite the bubble butt! You could serve coffee on that ass. A part of her did feel bad for staring so much because she was taken, but what Mike doesn't know, won't hurt him. And—Oh, my God! Sam's doing stretches now! Look at those thighs and those abs! Tom Daley, eat your heart out.

"Excuse me, Crouching Tiger," came a loud voice, "Dis is a closed practice. You can ogle da big package of da missing Culkin brother another time." Tina's face flushed with embarrassment as she was under the swim coach's intense scrutiny.

"Coach, it's my fault!" Sam came rushing to Tina's defense. "I asked if she could come."

"Is dis yo' girlfriend?" Coach Washington asked her newest member, "'Cause I coulda sworn you said dat you were tryin' to holla at a damn black girl named Porsche. Were you just sayin' dat to get on my good side? I'll have you know, dat I am not a racist and I do not appreciate you thinkin' dat I can be easily flattered when a white man want to get with a black girl. I once had a threesome with Michael Phelps! Skin color don't matter to me, Frogger."

"She's just a friend, Coach," Sam said truthfully, covering his front as he was shivered from being so wet.

_Damn, did he look fine wet_—_Focus, Tina_, Tina shook her head as she stared back at Roz Washington.

"Well, get her out my practice!" Roz snapped as she marched back to the line of synchronized swimmers, blowing her whistle as they started their routine.

"Sorry," Tina said ashamedly.

"It's okay," Sam gave her a toothy grin. "Thanks for being here." He pulled the small Asian into a tight, friendly hug, which she returned, ignoring the wet feeling.

Oh. Oh, oh! He smelled so good. Like Irish Spring and...chlorine? Oh yeah, he was in a pool. Wait a second. What is that she's feeling? Is that his—?

"Um, Sam?"

Sam lost all color in his face, looking absolutely horrified and turning the other way in complete embarrassment. His pale skin turned a light pink color all over his body. "I am so sorry! I didn't—I don't know what—I'M SORRY!"

Tina let out a breathless laugh before responding reassuringly, "It's fine, Sam. It happens."

She was happy that Sam had his back turned to her so he wouldn't see the goofy grin on her face and a prominent blush of her own. Sam was too busy repeatedly hitting himself on his forehead at his own stupidity and uncontrollable hormones. Most girls would've been disgusted, but all Tina could feel was flattered. It's not every day when a hot boy like Sam Evans gets _excited_ for a girl like her, Tina Cohen-Chang. Well, if it were two years ago. Glee club and dating Mike did wonders for her self-confidence.

"Uh, Sam?" Tina said after a long awkward silence, "I'm gonna go now."

Sam turned to her, still covering the bulge in his tight swim shorts. He nodded his head anxiously, still a deep shade of red. "Good luck during practice," Tina continued before placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and winking at him, "And I won't tell Mike." She waved a final goodbye before leaving the pool area.

She smiled to herself as she thought about how sweet of a person Sam was. She then frowned when she thought about all the dishonesty that has been going on between her and her friend. She wished she had enough courage to be honest with Sam about what she and Artie were doing behind the New Directions back, but she was afraid he'd tell them what was happening. But Sam wouldn't do that, would he? Tina shook her head. Probably not, but for now, it'll just have to be her little secret.

**glee**

"I know your secret," came a voice as Tina opened her locker to get her math book the next day.

Tina screamed and nearly jumped out of her skin when Rachel Berry appeared out of nowhere behind her locker. The Jewish girl was looking at her with a crazed look in her eye, like she was thirsty for blood.

_Oh, crap! She knows_! Tina panicked. _Okay, beg for forgiveness and hope she casts mercy on your soul! No! Just play it cool_.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know what you've been doing behind our backs, Tina Cohen-Chang," Rachel stated darkly, "It's very obvious."

"It-it is? W-what do you mean?"

"You and Sam," Rachel answered. And Tina let out a sigh of relief. "I know you both have been secretly seeing each other behind everyone's backs and behind Mike's."

"What? What are you talking about? There is nothing going on between me and Sam," Tina declared fervently.

"Oh, Tina," Rachel said, "Tina, Tina, Tina. I have eyes. And I know that you two are having some type of affair."

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"All I'm saying is that when a boy's thingy gets aroused around me, it's usually because he totally wants to tap this." Rachel slapped her butt for emphasis. This action made a perveted Jacob Ben Israel go nuts from his spot around corner as he taped the everyday life of Rachel Berry.

Tina's eyes widened in shock. "How did you—wait, what? How could you have known about that?"

"I saw you both at his swimming practice yesterday while I was hiding in one of the baskets for the water polo team's jockstraps."

"You're insane," the Asian singer declared, starting to wonder if the Jewish hobbit had finally flipped her lid. "Why were you hiding?"

"I was little suspicious of your relationship with Sam, so I followed you," Rachel started, "Needless to say, I was surprised to see Sam getting very excited to be around you. He's got quite the equipment, doesn't he?"

Tina saw red in her eyes and took all she had not to smack her. "Rachel, what are you trying to prove?"

Rachel smiled widely with a calm, collected look on her face, which was almost frightening. She slowly stepped toward Tina, cornering her into the lockers. "I just want to make sure there's peace and harmony in our group. Negative energy is not good for team morale. And lately you've been a little on edge."

"What's your point?" Tina asked curtly.

"I'm just saying, I would hate to see what the team morale would be like if Mike ever found out."

Tina glared at the girl in front her. "Are you threatening me?"

"No! I would never do such an underhanded thing," Rachel still kept her bright pearly smile intact, "What do you take me for?"

_An evil witch_, Tina thought. She had to bite her tongue to prevent her from saying that out loud.

Rachel placed a hand on Tina's shoulder in what, Tina had guessed, was supposed to be comforting. "I care about you a lot, Tina, and I want you to be happy. So if riding Sam's big man sausage makes you happy, you're just going to have to wait until after Regionals."

That's it. Tina was just about to tackle the glee co-captain to the ground and flail a series of punches to her face when Blaine frantically ran toward the two girls, looking distressed. "Rachel! Tina! Come quick! Mike and Sam are fighting with each other!"

The three teens all made a run for the choir room where Sam and Mike were on the ground throwing fists at each other with Finn and Puck doing their best to pull them off each other. Santana and Brittany were watching from afar as Kurt and Sugar were currently filming the fight on their phones. Quinn was shaking her head and rolling her eyes at the two ruffians as Joe started praying for them. Rory and Artie watched in awe as the boys still made conscious efforts to get the last punch.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Tina screamed as she saw her boyfriend and her friend going at it.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" a livid Mike shouted to the blonde as Puck pulled him away, "SHE'S MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"What are you talking about, man?" Sam said, completely clueless as he wiped a strip of blood from his chin.

"And you!" Mike pointed to Tina, "How could you do this to me? To us? Were you really that mad at me?"

"What are you talking about?" Tina hollered back at him, "Has everyone gone completely crazy?"

"YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH SAM," the Asian dancer accused.

"I am NOT sleeping with Sam!" Tina declared angrily. "God, doesn't anyone here have functioning eyes?! Sam loves Mercedes! It's obvious! There is nothing going on between me and Sam for crying out loud!"

"It's true," Sam confirmed. Still angry, Mike made a jump for Sam again, only to be held back by Puck's strong hold on him.

"Stop it! Mike, enough!" Tina said as she helped Puck hold a flailing Mike back. She smacked her fists against his chest several times, tears forming in her eyes. "How can you be such a jerk to him? He's supposed to be your friend and you treat him like he's some kind of leper."

The room was silent.

"Why couldn't you just believe me when I said nothing was going on between us?" Tina cried. Quinn quickly came to comfort her. "Who even told you this?"

"Finn did," Mike answered.

"That's what Rachel told me," Finn quickly said, pointing to his girlfriend. Looking scandalized, Rachel smacked her future husband's arm harshly.

Tina was too depressed to claw Rachel's eyes out, and the New Directions has had enough fight club footage on their phones for one day. Not looking at her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend or the bitch that caused all this, Tina fled the choir room without a single word to anyone, tears still gleaming in muddy tracks on her cheeks.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Ooh! Drama! Well what did you think? I hope I captured many of the character's personalities this chapter. I'm personally proud of it. Next chapter, we're going to go back to the plot and gather the remaining glee hopefuls and see if Tina and Artie can snag a sponsor. Anyway, I love your reviews. Keep them coming. Hope you guys had a good weekend. Lots of love.


	7. We Found Love

**Author's Comments**: Thanks for the reviews guys. LOL! _**Forever Gleek2000**_, you know I can't spill any secrets! You'll just have to wait and see who she'll end up with by the end of this story. And _**Cyprin**_, I didn't even notice that. I'll try to have him speak sometime in this story. Thanks! Anyway, this chapter has a lot happening in it. It's crazy how so many different things went on in this chapter, but it just flowed out of me. It's mostly an original chapter with a lot of emotions going on, but this part is pretty much based on the episode Yes/No (3x10). Enjoy!

**Featured Pairings**: ended!Tike (Tina/Mike), unrequited!Tiff (Tina/Jeff), Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), implied!St. Giselle (Jesse/Giselle), kissing!Samtina (Sam/Tina), Wemma (Will/Emma)

**Warnings**: Strong coarse language, offensive terms

* * *

**Chapter Seven  
****It's the Way I'm Feeling I Just Can't Deny, We Found Love In a Hopeless Place  
****("We Found Love" by Rihanna)**

* * *

Tina ran down the halls without looking where she was going. She's been doing this a lot lately. And just like before, she bumped into a heavy body that knocked her backwards.

"We need to stop meeting like this, Lisa Ling," came the obnoxious voice of Azimio Adams.

"Screw you, Azimio, I'm not in the mood," Tina snarled as she wiped the tears from her cheeks, still on her place on the floor.

"What's wrong this time?" the linebacker asked.

Tina stared at him with a suspicious look on her face, untrusting. Since when did Azimio Adams care about her feelings? "Mike and I are over," she mumbled.

"That's just a commercial, babe," Azimio said stupidly, "A campaign thing to get people to buy their candy."

"Not _Mike and Ike_, you moron, Mike and _I_," Tina rolled her eyes as she curled her knees to her chest and laid back against the lockers. "He thought I was sleeping with Sam Evans."

"Were you?"

"NO!"

"Just checking; I know how you Asian girls like white boys," Azimio said as he took a seat next to the crying girl.

"Before you go off and make yet another racist comment, why are you being so semi-nice to me?"

Azimio looked down, an embarrassed look on his face, staring at his hands as if they were the most interesting things in the world. "You don't deserve it."

"I'm sure I deserved it the other times though, right?" Tina snapped.

"Probably," the second-stringer nodded his head. Tina rolled her eyes as she sat there in silence with the same bully who tortured her and her friends all these years. She heard Azimio reach into his bag and pull out a box of Milk Duds, pouring a generous amount into his hand before stuffing his face with them and effectively making himself look like a very fat chipmunk. The sight almost ignited a chuckle from Tina as she thought about the day's events and how much this day had sucked so far.

Damn, Michael Robert Chang for being so untrustworthy. Damn, Rachel Berry for so annoying. Damn, Sam Evans for being so goddamn hot. Damn it all.

Azimio waved the Milk Duds box in front her. "Want some?" Tina shook her head, but Azimio shook it in her face again. "It'll make you feel better and think about happy Asian things." Rolling her eyes, she took the offer and held out her hand as the bully poured a good amount for her. They sat there in silence for a little while, Tina slowly eating her Milk Duds one by one as Azimio gracefully (yes, that was sarcasm) downed the rest of the box's contents into his mouth.

After a little while longer, Azimio got up from his spot next to Tina, gathered his things, and walked off. "See ya, Julie Chen."

Tina smiled for the first time since before her confrontation with Rachel. "Thank you," she let out half-heartedly.

"Whatever." And he was gone. Tina finished off her candies and made her way back to the choir room.

When she got back to the choir room, everyone was now arguing with each other. Rachel and Finn were arguing with Quinn and Santana about the Mike-Tina-Sam drama, accusing the engaged couple of causing it all, which Rachel vehemently denied. Mike and Puck were arguing about whether Mike should still kick Sam's ass as Sam and Mercedes were heatedly discussing the situation as well. Tina was sure Sam just enjoyed the alone time with the self-proclaimed diva. Brittany was currently arguing with Rory about leprechauns not being able to get into heaven because they're obsessed with gold and tried to get Joe to confirm this speculation, who really didn't have answer for bisexual cheerleader's odd question. Sugar was re-watching the Sam-Mike fight on her phone with Artie as they made over-the-top reactions whenever Sam or Mike landed a good punch. Kurt and Blaine were arguing as well, with Kurt accusing Blaine of cheating with Sebastian and being a traitor to New Directions, all of which made the bow-tie loving teen tear up, though no one cared to notice.

Why were they all arguing? Since when did all of this even concern any of them? This was between Tina, Mike, and Sam.

"Guys, guys!" Tina shouted. "HELLO!"

The room stopped their bickering to stare at the Asian girl. "Why are all of you fighting? This is between me, Mike, and Sam. For once in your lives, stop making this about you and mind your own goddamn business!"

"What's going on in here?" Mr. Schue came in, hearing his student's angry rant.

"Sam's trying to move in on my girl," Mike spat out viciously, glaring at the blonde synchronized swimmer.

"Sam is not trying to do anything and I am not your girl anymore!" Tina snapped. "This is bullshit! I am tired of all of this! I've had to sit and endure all of your drama from the Fuinnchel love triangle, to the baby-gate, to Santana's coming out and everything in between. And I'll be damned if I'm going to be the latest hot gossip in this group!"

Silence once again. Since Tina finally had their attention after all these years, she might as well drag this out as long as she could.

"Enough with all of this drama already! I've had it up to hear with it!" Tina raised her hand above her head for emphasis. "We're going to sit down, listen to Mr. Schue's announcements and act like one big, happy, fucking family even if I have to kill all of you!" Still no one said a word, but stared at the girl in shock. That sweet Tina who faked a stutter and shied away from people was gone, and this Tina was finally speaking up. "Got it?" Tina stomped over to her usual spot in the back row with all eyes still on her.

Schuester didn't really know what to say. All this chaos was going on in front of him and there really was nothing he could do about it. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he gathered the attention of his students. "Well, I guess this is probably not the best time to tell you this, but I've decided to ask Miss Pillsbury to marry me."

In response, the New Directions gave their congratulations in the most forlorn applause that has ever been mustered by the underdog singing group.

**glee**

"Wow, that's a lot to take in," Jeff said as he took sip of his non-fat soy latte. It was a habit that he picked up from Sebastian Smythe's strict dietary regimen for the Warblers.

Tina was currently sitting in the Lima Bean on an elevated table across from her Dalton friend, relaying the drama that had taken place earlier today in school. She was currently stirring her hot chocolate for the umpteenth time, not really taking any sips.

"I don't know what to do," Tina said. "It's not really a good time to tell them, and plus I don't even have a full group yet."

Jeff reached across the table to place a hand on hers in a comforting gesture. "You'll think of something. You're amazing."

Tina's lips formed a smile, which made Jeff's insides turn to goo. Oh, how he longed to plant just one kiss those beautiful lips of hers. But it wasn't the right time. As much as he loved the fact that she was finally available, it was too soon to jump on that bandwagon, and plus she's probably feeling extremely vulnerable and wouldn't want to jump into a relationship right off the bat.

"You're a great friend," Tina said kindly as she tore her hand away from Jeff's and finally took a sip of hot cocoa, scrunching her face when she realized that it had gone cold.

Jeff frowned. Great friend? Just _friend_. Just a friend who happens to be a boy, but not a _boyfriend_. This blows and now Jeff was feeling pissy as well. Screw Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. Love sucks major dick. He looked back at Tina's sullen face, who was more than likely still thinking about all of the drama that had gone down today. No, Jeff needed to be strong for her. He can be mad later. Right now, Tina needs a friend and he was all too eager to be the one to make her smile that beautiful smile of hers.

"So, changing subject," Jeff started casually, "What are your plans for the glee club?"

"They can all burn in hell," Tina said bitterly.

Jeff laughed good-naturedly. "No, I meant _our_ glee club."

"Oh, wow, I don't know," the Asian girl replied, "I was so caught up in all this drama, I just lost my train of thought."

"I don't want to add pressure, but we have to gather a glee club fast," the blonde Warbler stated. "You said Sectionals was when?"

"In early January," Tina answered, "I didn't really check the notice. I crumpled it up and threw it in the trash." When Jeff gave her a confused look, Tina quickly replied with, "Long story."

"So what do you want to do?" Jeff asked her, finishing off his latte.

"Let's scour the streets of Ohio until we find eight more glee club hopefuls," Tina declared before gathering her things and heading out the door with Jeff by her side.

After going to several different schools, Tina finally decided to visit Carmel High in search of any scorned Vocal Adrenaline members. The drive to Carmel was silent, but Tina did notice that Jeff kept sneaking glances at her. As much extremely cute as she found the boy to be, she wasn't ready to jump into that boat yet. And plus, she only really ever saw him as a friend. Pulling into the school parking lot, Tina walked into the school with her arm around Jeff's as they made their way toward the auditorium. The place seemed as if it got bigger since Tina last visited the place, almost as if it grew two more sizes. The two teens decided to sit in the nose bleeds where no one could see them as they spied on the performing group.

Currently, the A-list show choir of Vocal Adrenaline were working on a dance number while jumping, sliding, and side-stepping around a full-set black girl in really cute shoes. She reminded Tina of Mercedes with a bob, only she was a lot prettier. Tina wondered if Sam would want to get with her instead.

"That one's called the human centipede," Jeff whispered to her as they saw the group perform a particularly complicated-looking stunt, "It's supposed to be one of the hardest stunts in show choir history."

_**(Unique with Vocal Adrenaline)  
**__Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes  
__Turn and face the strain  
__Ch-ch-changes  
__Don't want to be a richer man  
__Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes  
__Turn and face the strain  
__Ch-ch-changes  
__Just gonna have to be a different man  
__Time may change me  
__But I can't trace time_

"David Bowie classic," Tina remarked quietly to Jeff, who nodded his head. It was particularly good choice for the vintage theme at Nationals. The two spies looked on as the Vocal Adrenaline members came to a close.

"You all sucked ass," came a familiar voice that Tina had a hard time remembering who. Suddenly, a young man stood up, who at first glance looked like a young Will Schuester and that's when it hit her.

"It's him," she mumbled.

"I've pissed out better performers than you worthless, soulless automatons," shouted the uppity Jesse St. James. "Chunks McGriddle! What the hell happened with that last note? You were flat! The judges at our Sectionals were complete dumbasses for saying that you guys were the number one choir in the country when you all sounded like a cheese grater having sex with sandpaper!"

"Wow, he makes Sebastian seem like the Pope," Jeff quipped. "And Sebastian's a total hoe." Tina nodded her head in agreement as she watched the curly-headed former Vocal Adrenaline headliner chew out his alma mater's current show choir team. After telling (well, screaming) at the group to take a half hour break, the VA members all scattered from the stage behind the curtains. The black girl that was singing lead vocals was the last to leave as she was busy untying her shoes and taking off her wig—

Wait. Taking off her _wig_?

Tina and Jeff's eyes widened in shock to see that the pretty black girl was actually a pretty black _boy_!

"Oh, my God," Tina said in shock.

"Maybe she has cancer," Jeff suggested, earning a look from Tina who shook her head at his dumb statement.

The cross-dressing boy walked off the stage, bedazzled shoes in one hand and his wig in the other. As soon as he left, Tina saw a snooty-looking girl in a glittery VA costume with nicely done hair walking up to Jesse with a seductive smirk. She couldn't really hear what they were talking, even in the empty theater, but from what she could tell, Jesse did not seem interested.

"—But you promised!"

"Bingo! There you go," Tina whacked Jeff several times on his arm to get his attention as he directed his line of vision to the arguing couple. Having seen this conversation many times before, she found her scorned Vocal Adrenaline member.

"Giselle, you know how this team runs," Jesse scolded, sounding cold.

"My voice is ten times better than RuPaul's and you know it!" Giselle snarled. "They had that hippie-named Asian midget singing out front last year and it's about damn time that I get my shot."

Tina remembered who she was referring to. Sunshine Corazon was her name, and she had one powerful voice. So powerful that Rachel Berry felt so threatened by and had sent her to a crack house. Crazy bitch. She hated it whenever a newer voice came in that threatened her spotlight.

"Sorry," Jesse said dismissively, not sounding regretful in the least. He packed up his work things in his briefcase, gave the angry girl the cold shoulder and left the auditorium.

Giselle stomped her foot and scowled, hands on hips as she glared at the mini-Schue. Tina and Jeff quickly made their way down the stairs to where the girl was standing, thankful that she had not yet left and was too busy thinking up creative ways to murder Jesse St. James.

"Um, excuse me?" Tina said shyly, catching the girl's attention.

Giselle sneered at the two teens that interrupted her thoughts. Raising her eyebrows at them, she snarled out a rude, "Is there something you want?"

"Uh, yeah, um—" Tina started awkwardly, looking to Jeff for support who was also cowering in fear at Giselle's tyranny, "You probably don't remember me—"

"Probably 'cause you're not important."

"Well, she's a joy," Jeff whispered to Tina, deadpanned.

"My name is Tina Cohen-Chang and this is my friend, Jeff Sterling," Tina introduced. Jeff winced at hearing the word _friend_ again, but was grateful that no one had noticed.

"And I care why?" Giselle spat out, clearly annoyed.

"Well, you see, um, we're from—well, I'm from the New Directions and Jeff's from the Dalton Academy Warblers," Tina explained.

"Oh, yeah, the losers from the kiss that missed," Giselle said to Tina before turning her attention to Jeff, "And the gay school."

"Dalton is not a gay school," Jeff defended.

"It's an all-boys school—gay," the Vocal Adrenaline member stared at her finger nails, completely bored of this conversation. "Is there something I could help you with? Or are you just spying because we're that much better than all of you?"

"We were spying, but not your performance," the New Directions member started, "We were spying on you."

"Excuse me?"

"We're here with a proposition," Jeff put on his smile.

"I'm not going to leave Vocal Adrenaline so I can sing back up to losers like Nude Erections and Blowjob Boys."

"That's the thing! You don't have to sing back-up!" Tina explained excitedly, "We're starting our own glee club and we want you to join."

"Why would I want to join a show choir with the rejects of the reject choirs?"

"You'll get to sing and you don't have to sit on my lap to get that solo," Tina said in a snarky tone, crossing her arms.

Giselle glared at the Asian, who tried her best not to falter. Jeff, on the other hand, was about piss himself. The VA member stalked over to Tina until they were face to face with each other. "No."

She turned a glittery heel and walked off, but not before hearing Tina call out to her with a last-minute comment, "Have fun singing back-up to Lady Bunny then. I'm sure after all those years of singing back-up to _superior_ singers than you is as equally rewarding!"

Giselle stopped dead in her tracks. She didn't know whether to cry or to scream, but given her proud personality, she chose to just shoot the Asian an ugly look before walking towards her again. "If I were to entertain this incredibly stupid idea with your incredibly stupid self and your incredibly stupid boyfriend," she sneered, though hearing Jeff being mistaken for Tina's girlfriend incited a smile from him. "How could you possibly create a show choir with members from other choirs? That's illegal."

"No, it's not," Tina argued, "We have a signed permission form from my school principal that we are allowed to create a write-in show choir. Isn't that exciting?"

"You're optimism make me want to vomit." Tina frowned at the girl's negativity, but she knew very well that she can't be picky, especially with Sectionals nearing and no glee club to show for it. They still had to arrange the song selections and complete the choreography. Nevertheless, she pulled out her number and told the girl to call her before handing it to Giselle, who snatched it away with so much force, Tina pulled her hand away like it was about bit by a snake. Giving the two teens one last glare, Giselle left for the backstage.

"If we ever get a wait list, can we make sure she's on it?" Jeff sighed as he they made their way out of the auditorium.

"Don't be picky," Tina chuckled as she took Jeff's arm around her.

"Well, well, well," Tina's blood ran cold at the arrogant voice of Jesse St. James. "If it isn't Background Asian #1 and some random kid whom I don't care to talk about." Jesse smirked arrogantly at Tina and Jeff, who glared at the Carmel High alum. Jesse, however, didn't falter. "What are you doing at our practice? Do you honestly think spying on us was going to give your pathetic teams an edge? Or maybe you wanted to see what a real show choir looks like? Is that it, Sun Tzu?"

"Hey, leave her alone!" Jeff came to her defense.

"Who are you?"

"Jeff Sterling."

"I don't care." Jesse turned his attention back to Tina. "Get out. And whatever you saw, I want you to report everything back to the Land of Misfit Toys. Because I want them to be afraid of what they're up against. We have Nationals in the bag. It was _not_ a pleasure seeing you again, Dragon Ball Z and her obviously closeted friend."

Jesse left the two to themselves.

**glee**

As she and Jeff walked back to her car, Tina sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Today hadn't gone as successfully as she had thought. She only managed to get two possible hopefuls. Giselle, who unfortunately seemed to be the most "enthusiastic" (and yes that was more sarcasm), and a shy but ambitious girl named Pendleton Bailey from East Lima High, who seemed too scared to defect from her old glee club, The Unitards, the show choir that New Directions beat at Sectionals this year. Considering that blood-thirsty, Rachel Berry-esque girl Harmony was hogging all the solos, you'd think she'd have been more excited about the idea. This day sucked. And it wasn't about to get better in the next five minutes.

"Is it because you think I'm gay?" Jeff burst out randomly on the way over to Dalton Academy.

"What?!" Tina furrowed her eyebrows.

"Is it because everyone thinks I'm secretly gay and you think I'm secretly gay that you won't go out with me?"

"I don't—I never said—what are you talking about?!"

"I like you, Tina," Jeff admitted, shouting a little bit. "I like you a lot. And it really sucks that I'm going to be forever stuck in the _friend_ zone."

"Jeff—"

"No! I don't want to just be your friend!"

"You want to talk about this _now_?!" Tina cried, finally pulling up toward the Dalton Academy campus.

"Yeah, I do," Jeff demanded, "It hurts to be around you because I know you're not interested."

"I am just getting out of a relationship!"

"I'll wait! I just need to know..."

Tina sighed, resting her head on the steering wheel. "Jeff... I like you, I really do, you seem like a sweet person, but—"

But Jeff couldn't hear any more of the sentence, and immediately grabbed his bag and got out of the car. He walked towards the dorm rooms, not looking back even when Tina got out of her car and called after him.

"Jeff! Jeff, wait! Please!" Tina shouted, but couldn't catch up to the blonde Warbler as he ran back to his dormitory. "... Jeff..."

Her phone vibrated in her dress pocket and she immediately pulled out to find two new messages:

**From**: 419-447-3553 (Dec 21 5:59PM)  
_If I get caught, I'll say you blackmailed me you incredibly stupid person._

**From**: Jeff Warbler (Dec 21 6:02PM)  
_Just text me when the first meeting is. I don't think I want to go recruiting anymore._

Tina saved Giselle's name into her contacts before finally letting out the tears that had been threatening to spill. This day sucked; still sucks. Driving out of Dalton, Tina immediately drove back to Lima towards the one person who could comfort her after all this drama. She reached the Hudson-Hummel home where Sam was staying in less time than she thought, and immediately knocked on the door. Carole Hudson-Hummel, Finn's mother, answered the door, and Tina immediately ran into her arms, crying into her shoulder. Tina and Carole hadn't had much interaction except when Tina would come over to have a sleepover with Kurt, Mercedes, and Rachel.

"Oh, honey, what's the matter?" Carole asked kindly.

"Is Sam here?" Tina asked, tears still streaking down her cheeks.

"He's in Finn's room," Mrs. Hudson-Hummel replied, pointing up the stairs. Tina immediately took off, already knowing where the Frankenteen's room was. She burst into the room, uninvited, to find the blonde playing _Call of Duty 4_ or whatever it was called on the XBox thingy with Finn.

"Tina?" Finn was surprised to find Tina of all people in his house, let alone in his room.

"Finn get out," Tina blubbered out.

"But I'm on level 25," the freakishly-tall teen whined.

"GET OUT!" Tina yelled, "I need to talk to Sam."

Finn mumbled that he was about to win and left the two friends to talk things out, closing the door. Sam immediately pulled the girl into a comforting hug, forgetting about the completely embarrassing fiasco that happened the last time he hugged her. The girl sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder, mumbling out some unintelligible words.

"What?"

"Today... everything... I just can't..." Tina sniveled. "Oh! You have a bruise!" She had taken the time to examine Sam's face, which was sporting a nice shiner on under his left eye and a split lip, "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay. It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is!" Tina shouted. "You're so handsome and sweet, and I like you a lot, and I ruined everything! All this crap is just my fault."

"Y-you what?" Sam asked, surprised. "You _like_ me?"

"Yes—no! I don't know!" the Asian girl cried, shaking her head as she rested it against Sam's shoulder. "I can't think right now." They sat in silence, Sam rubbing soothing circles on her arm, before Tina spoke again. "Mike thought that I was sleeping with you."

"I gathered that when he punched me," Sam quipped, which earned a small, genuine chuckle from Tina.

"It's my fault because I've been real secretive lately."

"Yeah, I've noticed that," Sam said as he gave her a look, "Why?"

"It's personal."

"You're pregnant?!"

"What? NO!" Tina shook her head and whacked Sam on the arm playfully. "That's the second time this month someone thought I was pregnant."

"Really?"

Tina nodded her head. "I'm so sorry for all this."

"It was out of your control," Sam reassured.

Tina grew completely numb. She didn't know what to think about all this. Her break-up with Mike, Jeff's feelings for her, her feelings for Sam that she's been trying to deny for the longest time, and now the pressure of Sectionals nearing and her not having a complete glee club yet. It was coming down to the wire, and everything had hit a speed bump. She just wanted to get away from all of this and pretend it never happened. But she couldn't do that. Even if Jeff was mad at her, she couldn't let him down any more than she already had. Or Aphasia or Pendleton or even Giselle. And especially not Artie. They were counting on her and she needed to be strong.

Oh, but damn it did she want to feel weak for one second, just so Sam could comfort her. She needed to stop this, otherwise it could lead to something she might regret, but he felt and smelled so good. Maybe just one kiss... She opened her eyes when she felt his lips on hers. They were warm and plump, like she had always imagined. Not that she was always imagining them. It was chaste and sweet, and then it eventually became more passionate. Tina found herself sucking on his bottom lip as he nuzzled her face lovingly.

And then he pulled back.

"I'm sorry," he breathed out. "I-I shouldn't have—" He whacked himself on the head, careful not to hit his injuries. "You just broke up with Mike and he's already mad at me and everyone already thinks we're together and... and—"

Tina impulsively crashed her lips into Sam's again and they sat back against Finn's bed (which smelled like socks by the way) and kissed each other for a little while longer, forgetting about Mike or Jeff or Finn, who could walk in and catch them at any moment. That moment was all about them.

**glee**

Glee club did not get any less awkward, but they all managed to put aside their petty arguments to be there for Mr. Schue when he was ready to propose to Miss Pillsbury. Sam had come up with the idea to use the synchronized swimming team as an adorable method of proposal. To give the pamphlet-loving guidance counselor an entertaining show before popping the big question. So, they choreographed a very creative number involving the pool area and very ugly looking red, white, and blue outfits that looked like they were from the 50s or 60s. When the time had finally come, Mr. Schue had brought Miss Pillsbury to the pool area, carrying a bundle of white roses that she had been given by friends and faculty staff.

Rachel and Santana sung lead (shocker) to the Rihanna hit, _We Found Love_. Tina was pretty sure everybody knew the chorus of that song, and it was cheesy and romantic, exactly the kind of song that a proposal this over the top needed.

_**(Rachel)  
**__Yellow diamonds in the light  
__Now we're standing side by side  
__As your shadow crosses mine  
__What it takes to come alive  
__It's the way I'm feeling I just can't deny  
__But I've gotta let it go_

The boys all jumped into the pool in their own little way (Oh, of course Kurt and Blaine would jump into the pool in the gayest ways possible) as the girls jumped in and went into synchronized motion. Tina had guessed it was a good idea that Sam had decided to join this team. Santana was working the chorus like a pro as Rachel tried to outdo her. It had been two days since the big fight in glee and it was the last day before Christmas break. Tomorrow would be Christmas Eve and Artie was going to be too busy working on a Christmas special with the New Directions. He'd asked if Tina wanted to be a part of it, but she declined politely. She wasn't in the mood for a happy Christmas time special with the people who were currently on her hit list (a.k.a. Rachel and Mike).

_**(Rachel and Santana with New Directions)  
**__We found love in a hopeless place  
__We found love in a hopeless place  
__We found love in a hopeless place  
__We found love in a hopeless place_

The song came to a close, the New Directions all swam to the edge of the pool to hear Mr. Schue, who was in a white tux and sopping wet from swimming, make his proposal. Admittedly, it was one of the most beautiful moments she had seen in a long time. She smiled at Quinn as Mr. Schue finally asked Miss Pillsbury to marry him, to which she responded with an emotional nod and accepted it. The New Directions all applauded for the newly engaged couple with great gusto.

Tina found herself shedding a single tear for them. A happy couple, what a rarity these days.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Oh what a crazy chapter this has been. I have no words. I know some of you were liking the idea of Tiff, but let's drag this out for as long as we can, shall we? Kind of like how Kurt and Blaine were dragged out for a long time before getting together. It took them like ten episodes to get together. LOL! And I love David Bowie's song, "Changes", so I had to put it into the story somehow. I kind of felt that its usage was a little tongue-in-cheek, don't you think? Now tell me what you think. What do you think will happen next? Were you satisfied? I love the feedback you guys are giving me.

**Songs Featured**:  
"Changes" by David Bowie. Sung by Wade/Unique with Vocal Adrenaline.  
"We Found Love" by Rihanna. Sung by Rachel and Santana with New Directions.


	8. Settle

**Author's Comments**: A lot of things I have to say. For you Tim lovers, this chapter will be hard for you. I hope I don't lose you as readers. Love you. Now onto my general, pointless rant. I would like to point out that I don't hate Rachel or Blaine (or Mike for that matter). However, it is fun to make them OOC in this story. I love making Rachel seem like a huge bitch, Mike seem like a stubborn jackass, and Blaine seem like a total... well, you'll see. But like I said, I don't hate them, I just find them annoying at times (well, not Mike, just Rachel & Blaine). At one point I'd like to write other fics with them being good guys for once. BTW, I'm really liking this whole new, confident Tina. I wish she was like that on the show. She'd own their asses. Anyway, enjoy!

**Featured Pairings**: unrequited!Samtina (Sam/Tina), unrequited!Tiff (Tina/Jeff)

**Warnings**: Strong coarse language

* * *

**Chapter Eight  
****I've Got News, You Ain't Got to Settle for Nothing, You Can Get Youself Up Again  
****("Settle" by Gladys Knight)**

* * *

"Wow," Artie managed out after being left speechless by Tina's recap of the day's events from Wednesday evening. It was Saturday, Christmas Eve, and Artie was anxiously awaiting the premiere of his Christmas special, when Tina had shown up on his doorstop, wanting to talk. After keeping in all her emotions for so long, Tina needed to talk to someone she could trust. She decided to confide in Artie because the last person she talked to that she could trust, she stuck her tongue down his throat. Despite being exes, Tina knew she could control herself around her paraplegic friend.

"And I'm such a hypocrite," Tina sighed as she sipped some hot cocoa Mrs. Abrams was kind enough to make for her, "I told Jeff that I didn't want to be in a relationship because I just got out of one and then two hours later, I'm lying in Finn's bed, making out with Sam!"

"Wow," Artie repeated, "You're a bitch."

Tina rolled her eyes at him. "Tell me how you really feel."

"You're a bitch," he repeated deadpanned.

"That was rhetorical, Artie Abrams!"

"Sorry," Artie mumbled as he down the rest of his cocoa. "But on the bright side," he started enthusiastically. "You got two new recruits, and I just so happened to talk to some people at our school and another person, all of whom were interested in joining."

Tina perked up a bit. "Did they say yes?"

"Well, no, but they agreed to come to the meeting on Tuesday."

Tina furrowed her eyebrows. "What meeting?"

"Our first glee club meeting," Artie replied excitedly, "I've already text my recruits, Jeff, and Aphasia and all you need to do is text your girls to come by the school and to the choir room."

"Are we even allowed at school during the Christmas break?" Tina asked skeptically.

Her former boyfriend waved his hands dismissively. "No worries! I met some nice dude who teaches Spanish night class to illiterate adults and I pulled some strings and he said we could come in with him."

"You met some random stranger and he offered to let you join him, _alone_, in an empty school?" Tina smirked at her former beau.

"No-o-o," Artie started, "I met him while he was helping Mr. Schue with his Spanish—"

"Wait, Mr. Schuester _is_ a Spanish teacher, why would he need help with his Spanish?"

"He told me it was because the Spanish-teaching job was the only one available at the time."

Tina just laughed and shook her head. Mr. Schue can be so clueless sometimes. Well, the good news was that they had at least eight possible members and would only need four more.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A knock came at the front door and Tina checked the time on her phone: 8:32PM. Half an hour before Artie's special, but it was a little late for visitors on Christmas Eve. Mrs. Abrams walked her place in the kitchen where she was washing dishes to answer the door. Needless to say, Tina and Artie were surprised to see someone they knew at the door. Sugar Motta, spoiled and conceited daughter of Al Motta of Motta's Pianos, the music store that donated really ugly purple pianos to McKinley High for Mr. Schues horrible Purple Piano Project idea, which had ended up getting one piano torn apart by an enraged Sue Sylvester, one being burned by Santana and the Cheerios after Blaine's over-the-top performance of Tom Jones' _It's Not Unusual_, and another piano getting trace amounts of pasta on it when a food fight was declared after a New Directions tribute to the Go-Gos.

"Sugar?" Tina said in shock.

"What are you doing here?" Artie asked.

Sugar let herself in, rudely walking past Mrs. Abrams without warning, and made her way to the living room. Mrs. Abrams gave Artie a look before walking back to the kitchen to finish her dish washing.

"Oh, goody, you're here too, Nina," the spoiled rich girl said.

"It's Tina."

"Whatevs," Sugar said as she stroked her hair before checking her perfectly-manicured nails. "So, I was surfing the web a little while ago—"

"Thank you for sharing to us your discovery of the latest invention known as the Internet," Tina said with a snarky tone, "But get to your point."

Sugar scrunched her face, offended, but she brushed it off before continuing. "I was on the National Show Choir website to make sure my name was spelled right when I saw something rather interesting in the section for glee clubs that haven't done their Sectionals yet."

No way. No fucking way. There's no way she, of all people...

"And guess what I saw?" Silence from the other two teens. "I saw that McKinley High School has a glee club that has yet to compete in their Sectionals. Now, I put two and two together and I realized that since we already did our Sectionals, why was there another glee club on the roster?"

"I don't know," Artie croaked out, unconvincing. Tina was sweating bullets as she watched the snooty hobbit (and no, not Rachel Berry) continue her speech.

"The roster said _write-in_ show choir, and I thought to my brilliant self, 'How strange! Didn't Sebastian Smythe _allegedly_ send a letter to us saying that there was a write-in show choir at McKinley?' And didn't _you_, Tina Conan-Ching, make sure that we were under that impression?" But Tina said nothing, left completely speechless. Her eyes widened with each word said as the girl kept going on. "I'm not as stupid as I look—"

"That's too bad," Tina muttered through gritted teeth.

"—so, I want to know what all this is about before I tell the others." The two teens still kept quiet, and Sugar grew impatient. "Well?!"

"Fine!" Tina snapped, "Me and Artie are trying to create a glee club of our own because we're tired of being background singers to Rachel Berry and Blaine."

"So it's like Troubletones 2.0? How unoriginal and pathetic," Sugar declared before adding, "Sorry. Self-diagnosed Asperger's."

"Thanks," the Asian sneered. "Are you still going to tell?"

Sugar thought for a moment, twirling her hair and tapping her Prada shoes as she mulled it over. "No."

Tina smiled, as did Artie. "But—" They both frowned at the girl's words. "I wanna join!"

"What? Why?"

"Because New Directions are boring! Nothing interesting ever happens."

"We just had a fist fight last Wednesday," Tina pointed out.

"Yeah, but it was Asian Guy versus Hot Blonde Dude. And it was over _you_. Boring!" Sugar rolled her eyes, as she examined her nails again. "I would've liked it if Puck and Finn went at it with their shirts off."

Tina and Artie both made faces, looking ready to throw up. Shaking his head, Artie agreed to let her join, which made the girl jump in down with glee. Tina, however, looked mad and proceeded to slap Artie's arm, making him howl in pain. "You hit a guy in a wheelchair!"

"Sing a song about it."

Sugar was still jumping up and down with excitement as she took a seat in one of the couches, making sure to dust it off first before sitting down and asking what their plans were. They explained the entire story to the spoiled-rotten sophomore. Everything from Tina's outburst in glee to her asking for Artie's help to all the drama that came to head in glee last Wednesday. Artie received perpetual slaps in the head every time he mentioned Tina and Sam. He said just enough for the girl to put two and two together again and come to the realization that she is with Sam Evans.

"I am _not_ with Sam!" Tina declared fervently, giving Artie another good smack on his shoulder. That will certainly bruise in the morning.

"You don't just make-out with someone in bed without actually being _with_ them," Sugar stated.

"Sure you can; ask Puck," the Asian snapped.

"So what did it feel like?" Sugar inquired with an ear-to-ear grin, looking like a hyperactive six-year old.

"What did _what_ feel like?"

"His thing!" the rich kid replied loudly, "Was it big? I bet it was!"

"You touched his _thing_?" Artie asked in shock.

"I didn't touch his _thing_ for crying out loud!" Tina snarled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, I don't know what Sam and I are, but I can't think of that right now. We have bigger issues."

"Yeah, we need more glee club members," Artie added.

"I could ask some of the Troubletones," Sugar offered, "Some of them aren't going to be joining Sanny and Britts with the New Directions, so I can totally bag like four of them for our group."

"That's perfect! That'll give us fourteen total," Tina smiled, "We did it!" She gave a high-five to Artie.

"So have you guys thought of a name?" Sugar asked. Tina shook her head, causing the Motta's Piano heiress to gasp excitedly, "You should name it Pot O' Sugar!"

"Why would we name it that?" Tina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I'm amazing," Sugar said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You sound like a cat being scraped against a barbed-wire fence," Tina stated, deadpanned. Sugar gave her a scandalized face, before Tina quickly replied with, "Sorry. Asperger's." She figured using Sugar's excuse would get her of the hook and was relieved that Sugar nodded her head in understanding. "We'll work on the name when we have the first meeting on Tuesday."

Sugar jumped up from her seat and enthusiastically clapped her hands. "I'm so happy all our hard work and dedication is paying off! Our glee club is going to kick butt!"

"_Our_ hard work?" Artie inquired skeptically.

"_Our_ glee club?" Tina asked.

"I've got to go home and pick out an outfit!" Sugar rushed for the door before turning back to the former couple, "Should I wear something hot pink or leopard? Oh, who cares? I'll just go with both!" And with that she was gone, leaving the teens she left behind stunned in place.

Tina broke the silence by sighing frustratingly. "Why us?" she moaned to the ceiling.

**glee**

The Christmas special was a complete success, and Artie was given much praise for his hard work. Tina was the first to congratulate him (as she was there with him when it aired). The two then spent Christmas Eve with their respective families and didn't see each other until the day after Christmas, and a day before the big meeting. Feeling nervous, Tina had called Artie ahead of time to confirm that his recruits would be there as she confirmed Jeff, Aphasia, Pendleton, and Giselle, all of whom agreed to meet her at McKinley High at 7PM sharp, when Señor David Martinez would open the doors to allow them in. Tina got to meet the handsome Spanish teacher ahead of time, and decided that she liked him a lot. He was very kind, and he had a beautiful smile, which he says was because he used to be a "tooth model". On top of that, he was very handsome.

Speaking of handsome, Tina had decided that she would finally talk to Sam about what had happened in Finn's room almost a week ago. The two friends had been behaving awkwardly around each other for several days, not speaking with each other even when they went to help out Coach Sylvester at the soup kitchen on Christmas Day. She sat him down on a cold, frosty Monday afternoon at the Lima Bean to talk about their feelings. Sam was fidgeting nervously as Tina could barely pry her eyes off her cup of coffee, too shy to look Sam in the eye.

"So," she muttered out.

"So," he repeated.

"So," she said once more, followed by another "So" from Sam.

"Sam," Tina started, "Things are weird between us and I don't them to be." Sam nodded his head in agreement. "Do you—are you still—do you want to be with me?"

Sam stared at her, a blank look on his face that Tina could not read. "Like, be boyfriend and girlfriend?" Tina nodded. "I don't know. Do you?"

"I don't know," Tina admitted as she sipped her coffee, "I think I have feelings for you. And when I kissed you, it was amazing. I loved feeling your lips on mine." Wow, that was bold. She didn't think she'd ever admit such a thing out loud, especially to Sam. But she was in too deep already, and she had to keep going. Worst he could do was reject her harshly and leave her mortified into an eternal oblivion, right? "And... I think I want to be your girlfriend."

Sam didn't say anything, and Tina felt her stomach drop instantly, feeling rejected. Sensing her discomfort, Sam reached across the table and put her hands in hers, "I like you a lot, Tina," Sam started, making her smile. "And I would be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to you. I think that really embarrassing moment I had at my swim practice with you kind of confirmed that." Tina laughed as she replayed the scene in her head, hugging him and then feeling his big, hard... "But—" Oh, shit. "I still love Mercedes."

_Someone shoot me_, Tina thought to herself. _Just get one clean shot at my forehead so I can be done with this embarrassment_.

"Tina," Sam started, "I really do like you and a part of me wants to be your boyfriend, but I just can't. I-I'm sorry."

"No, Sam!" Tina hushed the boy, "It's okay! This is good for me. I just got out of a relationship and I feel like I was in a vulnerable place at the time! I don't know why that happened, but it did. And I liked it a lot, but I think it's for the best that we remain friends."

The blonde Trouty Mouth laughed good-naturedly. "Shouldn't _I_ be the one saying that?" he smirked, earning a laugh from the Asian beauty.

"Tina! Sam!" came the surprised voice of Blaine Anderson as he walked into the Lima Bean. "How was your Christmas break?" he asked with a bright smile.

"It was fine," Tina managed out, still recovering from the rejection.

"Pretty good," Sam answered. "Where's Kurt, man?"

Blaine frowned. "He and I didn't get a chance to spend Christmas with each other like we had planned, but we're planning on throwing a New Year's party at the Hudson-Hummel home! Wanna come?"

"I know already, bro," Sam laughed, completely missing the fact that Blaine changed the subject. "I live there remember?"

"I know, but Tina doesn't," the gelled-haired teen declared, "Wanna join us, Tina? Most of New Directions are coming."

Tina didn't say anything, instead opting to nod her head in acceptance, making the gay boy smile brightly. As annoying as he was, he was still a genuinely nice person, even if he was unintentionally a selfish, spotlight hog. At least he didn't willingly know like Rachel. Ugh, Tina just realized she agreed to spend New Year's with her and Finn. Blech! As if seeing them make out a thousand times during the half hour time limit at glee wasn't enough, now she'll have to endure it for an entire night. She was sure Rachel was going to try to pick the perfect spot, position, and lighting for their kiss at midnight. It almost made her want to throw-up.

All this thinking and mental Rachel-bashing made her forget the world long enough that Blaine had already ordered his coffee and joined her and Sam at their table. The three small talked for a little while before Sam had to go, leaving Tina and Blaine to sit awkwardly with each other. After fidgeting with the cardboard cover on her coffee cup, she decided to she'd had enough and got up to leave.

"Tina," Blaine said sadly.

Sighing, Tina sat back down, slightly annoyed. "Yeah?"

"C-can I ask you something?" When Tina nodded, Blaine continued. "Do you... _hate_ me?"

Tina furrowed her eyebrows, before shaking her head. "No."

Blaine nodded, accepting the answer. "You know, it's really hard for me to make friends with you guys. I really want to be a part of the group." Tina looked around the room, trying to find a method of escaping this conversation. Truth be told, she wasn't the biggest fan of the oddly-dressed, gay teen, and she could already tell that this was going to be painfully awkward to sit through. "I mean, I'm pretty cool with Santana and Brittany, and Rachel likes me, but she's closer to Kurt. I kind of always thought that you and I could be friends because I see myself the most in you."

Tina laughed nervously. "Th-that's nice."

"Is it because I sing too much? Is that it? Because that's what Kurt says is the reason why everyone hates me."

"Blaine, I don't hate you, and I'm pretty sure everyone else doesn't hate you either."

"So why aren't we friends?"

"Blaine, you don't you want—"

"Come on, just tell me."

"BECAUSE YOU'RE ANNOYING!" Tina blurted out without really thinking first. Immediately afterwards, she clamped her hands to her mouth like a nun who just uttered a cuss word. They had received strange looks from passers-by, and Blaine sat there with his mouth open. Seeing the hurt look on his face, Tina backtracked, "Oh, my G—I didn't—I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that!"

Blaine shook his head sadly, wiping a tear from his eye.

_Geez, this kid cries a lot. Kurt didn't cry this much_—_Focus, Tina_, Tina thought, before mentally slapping herself for thinking it. Why did she have to be such a bitch? First Jeff, now Blaine? It's like she has some kind of subconscious vendetta against all Warblers. Why is she so heartless? Oh, great, Blaine's full-on crying now. She can hear him sniveling silently to himself. How much more awkward can this get?

"I think Kurt's cheating on me!"

Oh, shit. Tina's eyes widened when Blaine admitted such a thing. Well, that explains the PMS-meltdown going on right now.

"W-what?" the Asian girl asked.

Blaine sobbed loudly, causing more looks. "He's been texting this guy—Chandler! And they've been exchanging flirty messages with each other for the past week. I didn't think he was this mad at me about Sebastian! I swear I didn't mean to cause all of this! I just feel so horrible!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Tina waved her hand for him to stop his bawling, "Slow the crying down, Chris Crocker." Blaine sniffed dramatically, tears still streaking his face as he stared back at the Asian singer. "Now, if Kurt really is cheating on you, why are you blaming yourself? I mean, when everyone thought Sam and I were hooking-up, Mike never blamed himself. He blamed me and Sam. And he was totally wrong for that, by the way, but that's not the point. If Kurt's cheating on you, it's his fault, not yours."

Blaine nodded in understanding, but the look his face gave away that he didn't believe it.

Tina tried her best to smile at him, which made her look like she was crazy. Blaine was still shedding tears, only without the constant blubbering; just the occasional sniffling. "Okay, so..." Tina started awkwardly, slowly getting up, "Good talk."

Blaine cried even more as he buried his face in his hands. "H-he told me that I cry too much!"

"Where would he get that idea?" Tina muttered to herself, looking in the other direction as she sat back down.

"I don't know! And h-he said th-that my constant need to sing all the time was irritating him!" Tina shrugged, sort of agreeing with the porcelain-skinned fashionista as said teen's boyfriend continued to cry out his feelings in front of her. "And when you told me that I was annoying, I guess I-I realized th-that it was tr-true!" More crying.

"Blaine. Blaine! BLAINE!" Blaine ceased his sobbing to look at the Asian teen. "Stop crying. Listen to me when I say this, Kurt is not worth all these tears. When you came to McKinley, we all welcomed you with open arms, didn't we? Well, not Finn." Blaine looked at her with puppy dog eyes, and Tina couldn't be any more annoyed with the emotional wreck in front of her. It's not that she hated him or anything, and she did feel bad for him, but she did find his constant crying and whininess annoying. Crap, she was a horrible person. She was the exact same way throughout high school, always crying and blubbering and being wallpaper. "Okay, stop crying! Everything is going to be alright."

"H-how?" Blaine moaned.

"For starters, STOP CRYING!" Tina demanded, almost shouted. Blaine tried his best to cease his crying, which now only came out in small sniffles and the occasional whimper. "Blaine, this is a side of you I've never seen before. You didn't strike me as someone who could cry at the drop of a hat."

"I know," Blaine nodded his head sadly. "I've never been in a relationship before and I didn't know I could be so cl-clingy. And I'm normally someone who bottles up their feelings, but when I'm with Kurt, I feel so many different emotions at once and it just got so hard to keep it in and now I feel horrible every single day!"

"Yeah, I did notice that you're suddenly more, eh, _emotional_," Tina quipped.

"It started when we first met Sebastian—around the time when we were doing _West Side Story_—Kurt would just make these snide comments to me about how stupid I look in my high water pants and the little things that I would do that he'd find annoying. He even took away my Harry Potter DVDs!"

"Oh, thank God," Tina mumbled under her breath, though Blaine did not hear her.

"He told me that I had no life and that I was a geek because I loved them so much. And then after Santana came out, he started calling me fat and made me eat as little food as possible and I didn't want to argue with him, so I just listened to him and occasionally, I'd eat something _fattening_, as he'd say. And now after everyone found that I told Sebastian about the Michael Jackson thing, he's been the worst he's ever been!"

Sighing, Tina reached across the table and took Blaine's hands in hers. "Blaine, I am so sorry. That's called 'emotional abuse'. You used to be a proud, _confident_ homosexual who never let bullies, um, _bully_ him. And Kurt is a bully. He's no longer the bullied; he's now become the bully. And he's bullying _you_ around."

"But Kurt loves me."

"Honestly, Blaine," Tina started, "I think you should end it."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I love him."

"You're in high school, Blaine. Don't be naïve."

"But I want us to work! I've never felt like this with someone else."

"You've only had one boyfriend! You're seventeen. You haven't even left Ohio," Tina reasoned; Blaine remained silent as he looked down at his cup. "There's a whole world of gay men out there. Someone will appreciate you for the gem that you are." That last part was painful to say out loud, mostly because it was a cheesy, cliché thing to say, but Tina had to comfort the crying teen somehow. Darting her eyes left and right, she decided this would be the perfect time to escape. "So, good talk."

She got up from her spot and was about to leave when she found herself being enveloped in Blaine's arms. "Oh, no, no hugging—" Tina struggled out as she tried to pry the emotional gay teen away from her.

"Thank you so much for listening, Tina!" Blaine smiled brightly, letting the girl to wipe his cheeks. "I'm so glad we're best friends now!"

"Wait, what?" Tina asked with a raised eyebrow as the teen skipped cheerily out of the Lima Bean. Tina sighed. Oh, what a joyous week this has been so far.

**glee**

It was ten til 7PM on a Tuesday night and Tina found herself waiting patiently with Artie by her side in front of the McKinley High main building. The Spanish teacher, Sr. Martinez, said he arrives about an hour early before his 8PM night classes to get his lesson plan prepared. Tina had hoped that they wouldn't run into Mr. Schue while they were there, because that would blow the cover before they really got on their feet. While they were waiting, Tina decided to relay her conversation with Sam to Artie to confirm that they were no longer an item, if they ever were one in the first place. She chose to leave out the part where Blaine had a complete meltdown in front of the whole Lima Bean.

"That's too bad," Artie said regretfully, praying for the loss of a Tina/Sam relationship, "Your shipping name could've been Tim."

"I know, I know."

A black Mustang pulled up to the parking lot, and Sr. Martinez in a fitted black t-shirt and tight jeans exited the car and flashed a brilliant smile at the two teens.

"_Hola, muchachos_," he said in a thick Hispanic accent, "You are on time."

"Just want to make sure everything goes accordingly," Tina replied.

"So, what did you say this was all about again?" Sr. Martinez inquired, eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face.

"We're going behind our glee club's back to form our own club in secret because we're tired of being unappreciated and pushed aside like low-life back-up singers," Artie stated simply, earning a look of annoyance from Tina.

"I see," the Hispanic man responded, a little surprised. "Well, come on in. _Vámonos_."

"Thanks Mr. Martinez," Artie said as he wheeled his chair right next to the tall Latino.

The trio eventually found their way to his classroom, which was only down the hall from the choir room after handing them the key to unlock the doors, Tina returned them to Sr. Martinez, and set up their area. She had told Artie to bring some snacks, which apparently was only a big jug of red Kool-Aid (which tasted flat) and an opened packet of Oreos. Rolling her eyes, she patiently waited for the recruits to arrive. Admittedly, her heart started racing when she got the first text from Jeff that he had arrived, it made this entire thing feel all the more real. She sent him a message to come in through the front, go down the hall and the right where the big choir room doors were.

And then he walked in. It was the first she had seen him since their argument and it was also the first she had seen him out of his Dalton blazer. He dressed pretty casually, ripped jeans and a green Hollister shirt that was covered by a purple-striped hoodie; something a public middle schooler would wear to impress his peers, but he still looked good. It fit him well, and he looked pretty attractive. He smiled politely to her, but didn't say a word and just sat in one of the chairs she and Artie had laid out.

Tina wondered if he still liked her, but figured that if he got over his crush, he wouldn't still be mad at her. Or would he? She shook her head as she waited for the others to arrive. Next to arrive was a small girl wearing the ugliest pink cardigan with red and blue hearts all over. And white stockings! She had about as much taste as Rachel Berry, but Tina found Pendleton Bailey much more tolerable to be around. Although at times she was peppy and energetic, she was also shy to talk to new people, and she reminded her a bit of Tina herself.

The next to arrive was... Hank Saunders?!

"Hank Saunders?" Tina said in shock as she examined the tall, attractive boy, "I didn't know you were still in high school."

"I'm senior at East Lima now," he said in a deep voice, "I play for the hockey team, the Seahawks."

"Puckhead..." Tina mumbled.

"I kind of missed being in glee, but the one at our school was lame," the former McKinley student added.

"Yeah, the one here is still considered lame," Artie retorted. "But I'm glad you could make it!"

"Totally dude," Hank nodded as he gave Artie a fist-bump, "I get why you guys want to do this. I wanna see the look on Rachel Berry's face when we kick her ass at Nationals. It was because of her, everyone thought me and Sandy Ryerson were doing it, all because I got a solo that she didn't get."

"Yeah, Rachel's kind of a sociopath," Tina quipped simply as another person, Aphasia Simmons, walked into the room.

"Damn, dis place is nice. You even got those fancy 2-Ply toilet papers," she said as she fluffed her weave.

"You're charming," came the sarcastic voice of Giselle as she walked into the choir room right after her. "I'm only here because I wanna make fun of you some more, Sakura."

Rolling her eyes, Tina put on a smile before replying sarcastically, "Thanks, Giselle. So _happy_ you could make it." Giselle nodded as she sat down, picking up the sarcasm but not caring.

The next person to walk in, to Tina's surprise, was a tall girl with dark hair, wearing a ripped-up black shirt and matching jeans with the cutest, black, high-heeled boots Tina had seen. The girl, Tina remembered, was one of the self-proclaimed "Skanks," that Quinn had been a part of at the beginning of the year during her "phase." She remembered when she was cornered in the bathroom by the tall Skank and her two burly-looking friends, being forced to give up her lunch money. What did she go by again? The Skank? The Ho? The Mole? Tina didn't really take the time to memorize as she was too busy getting swirlied at the time.

Wait a second! Now she remembered—

"ARTIE!" Tina hissed as she stalked over to the wheelchair-bound junior, "You invited The Mack?"

"She's a great dancer!" he argued, "And I promised her I'd let her use my handicapped-parking pass for her motorcycle."

"That wouldn't even work! What kind of handicapped person uses a motorcycle?!"

Giselle scrunched her face at the girl as she made sure to keep her purse close to her chest. "Who are you supposed to be?" the snooty VA member started, "BDSM Spice?"

"Call me The Mack," the girl said, "I get called dat 'cause I likes to make out wit trukkuhs at rest stops. It's a double meaning kinda thing."

"How is that a double meaning?" Giselle asked cynically.

"You wants me to explain in details?"

"No, thank you," Giselle sat back in her seat, barely hiding her disgust. "Somebody mark her chair. I don't want to accidentally sit my butt wherever her crotch has been."

The Mack said nothing but flipped the girl off as she popped her chewing gum obnoxiously. Aphasia looked pissed when the Skank had done that, trying her best to keep calm.

"Great, we're officially New Directions 2.0, only worse!" Tina whispered harshly to her ally.

"Vampira?" came the surprised voice of... Azimio Adams?! Tina turned to see her former bully standing at the doorway with a shocked look on his face, still wearing his football jersey.

"Azimio? What are you doing here?"

"Uh, uh, I came here to, uh," Azimio stuttered, "I don't need to tell you nuthin'! If I wanna be here, I'll be here. Now where are those cookies and punch you promised, X-Men First Class?" The second-string linebacker demanded to Artie as he examined the meager food on the table. "What is this shit? There are like three black people up in this place. Are you tryin' to be racist by saying we like Kool-Aid and Oreos?" Azimio snarled at Artie and Tina as he ungracefully chomped on some Oreos before chugging half the punch. "Dash jush nah rye." he mumbled out with his mouth full before swallowing.

Tina wasn't even going to bother pointing out that he would always make Asian jokes at her.

Azimio took a spot behind Jeff, planting his shoes on the chair as he licked the crumbs off his fingers. Giselle looked like she was in her own personal hell, as she clamped her Juicy purse even tighter to her breast. The Mack was currently using two chairs, one to sit on and the other to rest one leg, effectively having her legs spread wide open for the view. Aphasia was still playing with her weave, looking bored as Pendleton sat excitedly next to Hank Saunders, who was currently scoping out his new glee club members.

"Okay, I guess Sugar will be by later with the Troubletones," Tina said as she got stood up in front of the neglected members of other show choirs and cliques, all staring at her expectantly. "So, we brought you here for the sole purpose of forming our own glee club—"

"What? Hold the hell on," Azimio interrupted, "I did not come here to join Homo Explosion. That's just not cool."

"This isn't New Directions, Azimio," Tina corrected, "This is our own glee club."

"So, you want me to join the rejects of Homo Explosion?" the burly linebacker shouted incredulously, his fat neck turning purple, "Hell no! Glee club is for gay pussies!"

"And what are you?" Giselle snapped, turning her chair to look at him, "A football player? That just shows that you like slamming into other boys in tight shorts with their butts in the air. That's gay."

"Shut up, That's So Raven," Azimio snarled, making the girl gasp disbelievingly, "I ain't like that! I don't even get to play."

"Oh, you sure came back at me with that one, genius," Giselle rolled her eyes as she turned back forward in her chair.

"Man, forget you!"

"Forget you!"

"Can this get any worse?" Tina mumbled, before screaming out loud when Sugar Motta surprised her from behind.

"Hey-y-y-y!" she greeted hyperactively, waving her hands in the air, "Sugar's in the house! Whoop! Whoop!"

"Sugar!" Tina looked behind the girl, searching for the Troubletones members she had promised but did not see any. "Where are the Troubletones?"

"Oh, yeah, you see, about that," Sugar shrugged. "I got good news and bad news."

"Tell us the bad news," Artie commanded as he wheeled to the spoiled princess.

"The Troubletones aren't joining," said Sugar.

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah, they can't join."

"Why not?!" Tina seethed, "What about Hannah?"

"She transferred schools..."

"She doesn't need to go to this school to be a part of this club!"

"... in Alaska."

"Ugh."

"Janelle?" Artie asked hopefully.

"She fractured her spinal cord during Cheerio practice," Sugar answered, "Actually, she dislocated her knee cap at first, but Coach Sylvester forced her to fight through the pain. She fell off the pyramid and now she has to eat through a straw."

"What about Courtney?" inquired Tina, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"She went into labor. She's a having a set of twins! But she's totally getting a C-section, and she'll be out of school for a couple of months."

"What about Glenda?" Artie moaned.

"Oh, she's in rehab for anorexia," Sugar replied nonchalant.

"I can't believe this," Tina said as she buried her face in her hands.

"I know, right?" the rich girl started, "Bulimia is, like, so much faster."

"Wait, what's the good news?" Artie asked, hoping this revelation gets better.

Sugar waved her arms up in the air enthusiastically with a huge smile on her face. "You guys still have me!"

Frustrated groans were the only things that left Tina and Artie's mouths. Artie wanted nothing more than to roll his chair into the school swimming pool. Unfortunately, that was too far away. Tina looked up at the sky to see if God was playing tricks on her, or maybe she was praying he'd take her out with a sniper.

"God, send me a sign!" Tina cried melodramatically.

"I could read you Matthews or Hebrews," came a voice.

Tina turned to see teen Jesus, Joe Hart, standing at the doorway with his rainbow-sash guitar and wild dreadlocks, a kind smile on his face. He held in his hand an old looking bible with gold lining and held it up to her. "I brought my Bible."

"Joe?" Tina said in shock, suddenly nervous that another New Directions member had shown up. "What are you doing here?"

"Sugar said you guys were having a bible study and asked if I wanted to come," Joe replied with a big smile on his face, "I'm always excited to talk about the Lord and share with everyone my experiences with him."

"Who invited this hippie?" Giselle sneered. "He looks homeless."

Tina turned to Sugar with a look of annoyance. "Sugar, why is he here?" she spat out through gritted teeth. "This was supposed to be a secret from New Directions!"

"Why would you want to keep bible study a secret from New Directions?" Teen Jesus asked, confused, "Is it because Rachel's Jewish and Kurt's an atheist?"

"I figured if I couldn't get the Troubletones, I could at least bring in our newest member!" Sugar responded with an accomplished voice. "I'm so amazing, aren't I?" Leaving a stunned Tina her place, Sugar walked over to Joe, who still looked completely confused as to what was going on. "Jake—"

"Joe."

"Whatevs. This isn't bible study. Tina and Artie are forming a glee club behind the New Directions' backs because they're tired of being overshadowed by the much-more talented Rachel and Blaine."

"SUGAR!" screamed Artie and Tina in unison.

"That was not Asperger's!" Tina snarled.

"Wh-what?!" Joe cried. "You guys are making your own glee club? Behind the others' backs?"

Sugar nodded her head. "Yeah, totally. Wanna join?"

"B-but isn't that lying?"

"Well..." Tina started, "Technically, we're not lying. We're just not telling them the full truth."

"Yeah, I'm sure that helps you sleep at night," Giselle chided, rolling her eyes.

Tina sent her a look of annoynce before turning back to Joe. "Uh, so Joe," Tina smiled awkwardly, "Wanna join?"

"Uh, um, I-I guess..." Tina and Artie sighed with relief. "Truth be told, that Santana girl really scares me. And she's always trying to make me see her..." Joe inched towards Tina and whispered, "Down _there_ spot."

"Damn, I should make it my mission to get you laid, Jar-Jar Binks," Azimio cackled as he patted Jeff on the back, hurting the blonde and making him cough out.

Out of nowhere, Aphasia lost her temper with The Mack when the girl popped her gum once again. "Girl, you better stop poppin' that gum or I will smack the chlamydia out of yo' mouth!" The Mack stood up from her chair to go toe-to-toe with the Jane Addams girl as they nudged, pushed, and chest-bumped each other.

"Guys!" Tina groaned.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Sugar pumped her fists in the air.

Giselle immediately got out of her seat, bag still pressed to her chest, as she tried to get out of the two hot-headed girls' way. Azimio and Jeff were watching from afar, well Azimio was laughing at the scene as he kept shoulder-bumping Jeff and making lewd comments about the two crazy girls and their "fine asses." Jeff looked terrified. Pendleton and Hank took shelter behind the piano as the girls started pulling each other's hair, with Aphasia screaming about damage to her weave. She was worse than Mercedes.

"Stop," Tina cried, no one listening. "Stop?" Still no response. "STOP!"

Tina was so loud, she thought her scream could be heard around the entire school. Breathing heavily, she opened her eyes to see all eyes on her, utter silence surrounding the teens. Although she was nervous and clearly in over her head, she had to be strong. She wasn't pushover Tina or quiet Tina anymore. This Tina has backbone, and has had it ever since she first stood up to Rachel that very fateful day. It was time to get real.

"Enough already!" the Asian singer started, "We're all here for the same reason. We're tired of living in people's shadows. We all have the same problem. There's someone out there who is better than us and never gives us a chance to shine like we deserve to! We're always sidelined and pushed around and _bullied_ into letting other people have their way. Well, let me tell you something, I'm tired of it and I'm sure you are too. I'm not going to sit back and do nothing but background singing. Just like you want to be on the first-string team and show everyone what you're made of, Azimio. And Jeff, you've auditioned for a solo how many times this year? Six? And you've still got squat. Giselle, you've been in Vocal Adrenaline forever and yet the newer kids with the big voices are always getting that one solo. That's how they run, don't they? Have the other members dance around the main singer to make them look good? And you get shit! We all get shit. Well, I've got news for you all. You're not going to settle for nothing in this club. You're going shine and show those spotlight-hogging motherfuckers who the real stars are! Am I right?"

To her surprise, Tina did not get booed or laughed at. Instead, she was actually welcomed with an applause and a series of "yeahs". She did it. She did it baby! She was finally a leader! Move over hobbit, there's a new Rachel Berry in town!

"Damn, dat was one inspirational speech, Asian Horror Movie," came a distinctive voice that made Tina's blood run cold.

Reluctantly, Tina turned in horror to see Coach Roz Washington leaning against the doorway, smirking evilly at all of them.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Whoo! I'm glad I got done with that! So what did you think? Total cliffhanger! Sorry, Tim-lovers. But I'm going to straight up tell you that this is a Tiff (Tina/Jeff) fic. I'll have to write a Tim fic for you guys another time. Right now, it's all about Tina and her accomplishments! Send me what you thought of this latest chapter, and I'll try and get another one posted up soon.


	9. Countdown

**Author's Comments**: Hey! I bet you guys were freaking out that I didn't post yesterday, huh? Just kidding! I was just a little busy, no worries. This chapter is not as long as the last (mostly because the last one was super long), so apologies. In this chapter, we have the New Year's Eve party mentioned in the last chapter and we'll see what happens after Coach Washington caught the group being bad in the choir room. We also learn the set list for Sectionals!

**Featured Pairings**: Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), Brittana (Brittany/Santana), unrequited!Flamotta (Rory/Sugar), unrequited!Tike (Tina/Mike), implied!Samcedes (Sam/Mercedes), failed!Cohart (Tina/Joe), implied!Quartie (Quinn/Artie), implied!Kandler (Kurt/Chandler)

**Warnings**: Strong coarse language

* * *

**Chapter Nine  
****We Be Makin' Love At 5, Still the One I Do This 4, I'm Tryin' to Make Us 3, From That 2, He's Still the One  
****("Countdown" by Beyoncé)**

* * *

"C-c-coach Washington!" Tina stuttered, shifting nervously, "Wh-what brings you here?"

"I was just doing my usual after school routines," the tyrannic swim coach started, "Takin' a few laps in da pool, polishin' my damn Olympic Bronze Medal dat I won for Individual Synchronized Swimming at da 2008 Beijing Olympics."

"They have those in the Olympics?" Pendleton whispered from behind the piano to Hank, who simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

"And after I was done replacing Coach Sylvester's protein powder with crushed-up laxatives, I could've sworn I heard a commotion up in this place and color me surprise when I found a whole room of students after hours." Coach Washington inched closer to Tina, who was so frozen in fear that she couldn't run away. "Now tell me this, Jamie Chung, why are you here in this fine educational establishment at nighttime?"

"Uh... Bible study?" Tina squeaked.

"WRONG!" the swim coach shouted, making everyone in the room jump. "What I see is a bunch of naughty chil'ren doin' somethin' bad and I wanna know what. Right now." When Tina struggled to come up with a few words, she turned to Joe, who was unfortunately the nearest to her. "What about you, Battlefield Earth?"

"Uh..."

"Okay!" Artie blurted out, defeated. "We're forming a glee club."

"And what da hell is wrong with da one you already in?"

"We're tired of Blaine and Rachel, the self-proclaimed lead singers of the group, getting everything and us getting nothing," Tina replied. "So, we decided to make our own glee club and give everybody a chance to sing."

"Damn," Roz started, "Dat is da saddest, most pathetic thing I have ever heard." Tina slumped, effectively feeling like crap. "I know a thing or two about being overshadowed—"

"I'm sure, since you couldn't get anything better than a _bronze_ medal," Giselle snorted.

Offended, Roz turned to the snooty Vocal Adrenaline alum and scolded, "You better shut yo' mouth, Olivia from _The Cosby Show_, or I'll take dat Prada bag and bash you over da head with it." And for once, Giselle kept her mouth shut. "Now, as I was sayin' before I was so _rudely_ interrupted, is dat I've been overshadowed before. Back when I was on the Olympic team for Synchronized Swimming, there was this one girl, Kenya Kukeya—"

"You were on the African team?" Pendleton asked, intrigued.

"No, Team USA. We were all from Compton, you mini-racist," Roz glared at the small girl, who hid behind Hank, "Anyway, she would always give me a hard time with my leg lifts, my hand waves, my shimmies, and she would always try her best to be better than me."

"Is there a point to this?" asked Giselle.

"What did I say about talkin', Keisha?"

"My name is Giselle."

"Well, from now on, yo' name is Keisha," Coach Washington all but yelled, "Now shut up, Keisha! As I was sayin'... All throughout Olympic practice, I had to put up with all her rudeness and her bosiness and just straight up bitchiness until one day, I got tired of it and you know what I did?"

"You went out on your own and became an individual synchronized swimmer?" Pendleton guessed in a peppy voice.

"No, Frodo of the Shire. I beat her ass down so hard, she couldn't even perform at the Olympics," Roz answered. A series of shocked looks were etched on all of their faces, except for The Mack and Aphasia, who both seemed to admire the Olympic athlete's spunk.

"Damn, you gangsta, girl," Aphasia announced appraisingly, "You should've been da coach at my school. Our coach was a short, little white man but he mysteriously disappeared a couple of weeks ago and hadn't shown up yet."

"I appreciate da love," Roz replied, "Anyway, after I got kicked off da team for violence, I had to perform in the Individual Synchronized Swimming Olympics, and you know what? I got me a damn bronze medal and I was praised for my work, while USA didn't even win squat. Russia, Spain and Japan were all better then those fools! Showed them bastards." Coach Washington let out a rather loud and obnoxious cackle.

Tina nodded her head in understanding. Even after standing up to her rival, Roz Washington managed to do well on her own and become an empowered, independent woman. As crazy as she was, she really knew how to get people pumped up, and everybody surrounded her to hear more of her amazing adventures as an Olympic bronze athlete. An idea popped into her head, and since Coach Washington was an official McKinley High faculty member and her club needed a sponsor, she decided to go for it.

"Excuse me, uh, Coach?" Tina asked.

"What's going on, Lucy Liu?" asked Roz. Tina inwardly laugh. She wondered how long it would take before someone referred to her by that particular actress.

"It's just that our club needs a sponsor," the Asian leader started, "Mr. Schue can't help us at all, he doesn't even know..."

Roz waved her hand at the girl to silence her. "Say no mo', I accept da offer. I loves me a good underdog story."

Despite having lost four potential members, being down one member from a full club, and having to deal with craziness of her current members, Tina had smiled brightly for the first time that night. She didn't even care that her one faculty sponsor was the loudest and craziest staff member at McKinley. It didn't matter because things were finally looking up for her.

"Everything's going to be alright," she said to herself, mimicking her words from her conversation with Blaine.

Now all they needed was one more member.

**glee**

After Coach Washington finished telling her stories, Tina decided to tell the group that she had been playing around with a possible set list and they all agreed to do Jessie J's hit song, _Domino_, for Sectionals and had to decide on the other two. The girls (well, Giselle) demanded that they sing the song. Artie had suggested _Edge of Glory_ by Lady Gaga, which was instantly shot down by Azimio, as he deemed it gay. Going back and forth for almost an hour with different song ideas (Giselle and Aphasia seemed to agree on an R&B song, while Pendleton wanted a show tune, and Azimio, Hank, and Artie wanted more hip-hop or rock added in), they all called it night and decided they would meet together on Thursday, same time, same place. After exchanging numbers, they all left McKinley High, feeling energized and confident.

Throughout the holiday break, they met at McKinley High after hours until New Year's when it was time for the New Year's Eve party that Blaine and Kurt were throwing at the Hudson-Hummel home. Tina still had not found a twelth member, but they still had two weeks and decided to enjoy the night for now and worry about that afterwards. Tina came with Artie and Sugar and were the last to arrive. As it turned out, all of New Directions decided to come and Tina knew that Mike was planning to get back with her. It also appeared that Blaine did not heed her advice and break up with Kurt, as they were both currently chatting with each other, holding hands by the punch bowl and food table as Blaine tried to get snacks, only for them to be slapped out of his hand by Kurt, citing "too many calories." It was his party though, why didn't he have some low-calorie food for his boyfriend while everyone else pigged out?

Just as she had suspected, Mike was coming straight towards her.

"Quick, pretend we're having a conversation!" Tina whispered to Sugar desperately.

"Um, oh yeah, Tina," Sugar started, talking loud so Mike could hear. "I will totally help you get that hairy wart removed."

Tina furrowed her eyebrows before shooting her a look of frustration at Sugar's stupidity. She did not have any warts! Let alone hairy ones! Do warts even get hairy? Oh, well. Maybe Mike will be so disgusted, he'll leave her alone.

"Tina?" Damn it.

Tina turned to her ex-boyfriend. "What do you want Mike?"

"A second chance."

"No."

"Please!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I gave you a second chance... twice!" Tina said defiantly, "And you still didn't trust me. For the record, Mike, after we broke up, I made out with Sam." Mike's eyes quickly darkened at hearing this news, already plotting the blonde's untimely murder. "But we both agreed that it was a mistake and I was in a vulnerable place and that we would just remain friends. So yeah, a part of me was attracted to Sam and Sam to me, but I never cheated on you, Mike."

Mike held his head down, his face still upset. He wanted nothing more than to find Sam and castrate him. But this wasn't his house, and Burt and Carole were nice enough to let them have this party, so he wasn't going to make a fuss... for now.

"You should've believed me," Tina said, effectively ending the conversation between the two exes.

Turning her attention back to Sugar, Tina sighed to herself in annoyance. "Well, this party is not at all awkward," she said bluntly to Sugar as she was trying to fight off Rory, who kept pestering her to dance to the loud hip-hop music playing. Placing the burden that was Rory on Brittany and Santana, Sugar nodded her head in agreement, stating that the party sucked major donkey ass. Not Asperger's.

And as if things couldn't get any worse, Tina was graced with the image of Rachel and Finn making out in the corner, with Finn trying his best to cop a feel under Rachel's horribly disgusting skirt only to be slapped away viciously by the Jewish girl. They're so gross. Tina would rather see Brittany and Santana make-out with each other, than those two idiots; at least that would actually be sexy. Rolling her eyes, she decided to spark a conversation with Mercedes as the diva talked away about her ideas for The Troubletones. She also complained a good measure about Santana thinking she was the boss of The Troubletones when Mercedes was the one that joined the group first.

"I should be the one making the executive decisions, not that JWoww-wannabe," Mercedes complained, sipping her punch that Puck had spiked. Tina was sure that everyone was going to be drunk off their asses by the end of the night. And why not? You'd have to be plastered to sit through a six hours of Finchel kissing other on every surface of the place and Kurt berating Blaine like he was a child. This was going to be a long night. A drunk Brittany was currently dancing on the coffee table with her top off, whipping her hair around like she was being tasered, or what she deemed as "cool epilepsy". Yeah, you know what I'm talking about.

In the last hour of the year 2011, many people were so drunk to the point where it seemed to be like a flashback of Rachel Berry's Trainwreck Extravaganza disaster party. At least Blaine was kissing his appropriate gender-preference this time around. And Rachel was finally making-out with the right person too, though Tina would've probably preferred it if she did make-out with Blaine instead because the tongue-whipping she's giving Finn right now is just sick to look at.

Tina and Sugar sat on the couch, watching the last of Nicki Minaj's performance at Times Square as Santana was currently in the corner bawling her eyes out about how much she loves New Directions and how happy she was to have so many great friends. Yeah, she was definitely shit-faced. Mercedes was with her, laughing her butt off at how funny Santana was being, which made the once-hardcore Latina cry even more and say "I love you so much, Wheezy!" over and over.

What Tina found the most amusing was Joe sitting huddled up in the corner with a cup of punch that wasn't spiked by Puck, sipping every so often as he watched in awe as everyone made a fool out of themselves. Tina took a spot next to him and asked if he was doing alright. He nodded, but he seemed a little scared, contemplating if he should whip out his pocket-sized bible that he keeps on hand in case of emergencies and read to some people. Tina informed him that wouldn't be a good idea and to just enjoy himself.

"OH MY GOD! IT'S STARTING! IT'S STARTING! I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS!" sobbed Santana as the countdown for the New Year was about to begin. "I LOVE YOU BRITTANY!"

Good. Tina didn't know if she could take any more of Santana's screeching, Finn and Rachel's constant probing of each other's orifaces, or Brittany trying to give her a lap dance for much longer.

Rory, being the over-excited little leprechaun that he was, happily sat next to Sugar with a big, goofy smile on his face. Giving up on trying to get Puck or Sam to kiss her at midnight, she had settled for Rory. Sam was currently with Mercedes (Ooh! Shane's going to be pissed!) as Puck was with some random red-headed Cheerio he had brought with him to the party. Oh, there was another one too, blonde this time. She looked a little like Quinn if she was anorexic. As she had predicted, Rachel was currently trying to pick the right spot with the right lighting for her New Year's kiss with Finn. What douches. Wait a second, where did Blaine and Kurt go? Tina could've sworn she had seen them a few minutes ago. The countdown was going to start and it was almost midnight, and they were going to miss the ball drop on TV. Oh well.

Five. No more regrets.

Four. No more drama.

Three. Time for a change.

Two. Time to shine.

One.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" they all screamed, some spilling their drinks as they locked lips with the person next to them. She looked around sadly at everyone, knowing that she herself was the only one not kissing someone. Well, her and Mike—Oh, no he didn't! Mike was currently locking lips with that anorexic Cheerio! Damn, Puck for bringing that fucking whore!

Tina tried to cool herself down, reminding herself that she dumped Mike and she was over him, no need to get jealous because he's found someone else and she has no one and is looking pretty pathetic right now. She looked at Joe who was still sipping his punch, looking rather innocent. Tina made a play to crash her lips against Joe's only to kiss his chin and spill his drink on his pants. Fail. Fucking fail. He smelled good for someone who looked like they slept in a box though.

Tina awkwardly apologized to Joe as he hasitly tried to wipe his pants, blushing madly from Tina's sudden attempts at affection. The Asian girl turned to see Quinn sitting right next to her sipping her drink casually as everyone else made out with each other. At least Tina wasn't the only girl without a kiss-mate, that is until Artie wheeled up next to them and thanked Quinn for the amazing kiss at midnight. It was official, Tina was at her lowest and she just wanted to die.

"I need to drink until I pass out," Tina muttered, deadpanned, receiving a disappointed look from Quinn, who was ready to give her a lecture on the dangers of excessive drinking that Tina was going to ignore anyway. "I'll be right back."

With that she took off for the kitchen for another drink. When she got there, she found Kurt leaning against the island counter with an annoyed look on his face.

"You okay, Kurt?" she asked, concerned. He didn't say anything, just nodded and went to join the others.

Shrugging her shoulders, she went to make her drink. After looking through various colorful drinks, she opted on some vodka and chilled orange juice. She was about to leave the kitchen when she heard the distinctive and familiar sound of someone sobbing just outside the kitchen backdoor. _Damn it_, she thought. She really wished she hadn't hear that, and almost pretended she didn't. But she knew who was making that sound and probably, in the back of her mind, knew why, and she just couldn't leave that person there to cry by themselves. So, she put her drink down on the counter, hoping no one would touch it, and walked outside to see Blaine on a concrete bench in the garden area, hands buried in his hands, making the ugliest crying noises.

Sighing, Tina let out a half-hearted, "Hi, Blaine."

He looked up to see his best friend (or as he says) standing there awkwardly watching him sob like a four-year old. "T-T-T-Tina!"

Nodding her head, she took a seat next to him on the bench, immediately regretting it when he attacked in her in a tight hug. She really needed to lay out some ground rules with this kid.

"I-I-I-I..." was all Blaine got out.

"What's the matter?"

"K-K-Ku..."

"Kurt?"

Blaine nodded his head before buring his face into her shoulder, making her blouse damp with his tears.

"What did he do this time?"

"H-h-h-he told me abou-abou-about Ch-Ch-Chandler!"

Tina looked surprised for a second before nodding her head again. So they finally did it. The Golden Gay Couple finally broke-up. That's too bad. So many people were so supportive of them. Across the world, a thousand Klainers are dying right now.

"I don't know wh-wh-what I di-di-did wrong!" Blaine blubbered pathetically. "I g-gave him everything! I tr-tr-transferred sch-schools to be with him! I ch-ch-changed my wh-whole life for him!"

"It's for the best, Blaine," Tina said as she rubbed comforting circles on the sobbing boy's back, looking at him with genuine pity.

"I-I-I'm so p-p-pathetic!"

"Yeah, you're not the only one, pal," the girl muttered under her breath.

Blaine was finally able to regulate his breathing and was only shuddering every so often. Tina was still rubbing his back soothingly as the gelled-haired teen continuted, "I was so depressed when he told me that I couldn't even enjoy our kiss at New Year's!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you wouldn't—Wait, WHAT?!"

Blaine looked at her curiously, his face stained with tears. "What?"

"You kissed him at midnight?" Blaine simply nodded his head as if that wasn't odd at all. "Why?! You guys just broke up! You're not supposed to kiss your ex-boyfriend on New Year's! If that was the case, then I wouldn't have made a complete ass of myself five minutes ago and just kiss Mike."

"B-but I _didn't_ break up with Kurt."

"So Kurt broke up with _you_?" Tina asked expectantly, almost hopefully. The kid was not that dumb.

"N-no." Yeah, he was. Tina stared at him in disbelief, her mouth hanging. She didn't know what to say. How on Earth could Blaine still be with Kurt even after he admitted to cheating on him with this Chandler guy? Total douche name by the way. Sounds like a TV show character.

"Blaine, what is wrong with you?" Tina almost yelled, scaring the poor boy, "You're not supposed to stay with him after he admits to cheating on you! You're supposed to yell at him, punch him in the face, bust the windows out of his car, STAB HIM for Christ's sake!" She sighed frustratingly when all this seemed to go over the naïve boy's head. She took a deep breath before calmly talking again. "Blaine, you need to break up with him. You're putting way too much emotional stress on yourself and eventually it's going to get so bad, you're either going to end up in the nut house for taking a knife to someone's neck or you'll be six feet under from swallowing too many pills."

Blaine sighed angrily. "I can't, okay! He's my soulmate! He's still the one!"

"Well, apparently, you're not the only _one_ for him," Tina argued back.

But Blaine shook his head stubbornly, clamping his hands to his ears and shutting his eyes. Rolling her eyes, Tina got up from the bench and walked towards the door before turning back to him. "Do what's best for you, not for Kurt. If he truly makes you happy, why are you crying so much?" And with that, she left the boy to himself.

Well, this New Year is starting off just wondefully.

**glee**

The first week back, Tina was walking next to Artie toward glee club in the morning. Even after all the drama that had gone down in the past month, things still have not changed in the choir room. Rachel and Finn were still making kissy-faces at each other by the piano (poor Brad) as Rachel looked through some sheet music for a solo she could do. Santana, Brittany, and Mercedes were all engaged in a conversation about what they could do for The Troubletones while Rory was trying to get Sugar's attention, who was too busy texting on her cellphone to notice the Irish exchange student. When he couldn't get it, Rory decided to talk to Sam about random guy stuff that Tina had no interest in remembering. Kurt and Blaine were still there, still a couple, and talking about the latest episode from some show on _Bravo_. Joe was currently strumming his guitar (Mary, he said its name was, after the mother of Jesus), occasionally receiving admiring looks from Santana, Brittany, and Blaine, and jealous glares from Kurt and Rachel.

Sam and Mercedes were now officially a couple; _an illegal one_, as Finn called it because Mercedes was still with Shane, but a couple nonetheless and were holding hands as they talked to their respective friends. Tina took a seat in the back row as Artie wheeled himself next to Quinn. They were still friends, despite the kiss at midnight and both agreed that they only did because they didn't want to be the loser at midnight who didn't get a kiss. Well, that just made Tina feel so much better (not). Tina did not look at Mike at all, who was currently sneaking glances at her from his (now permanant) spot behind on the corner back row.

"Okay guys," Mr. Schue started, calming the chatter. "I hope you guys had a good holiday break and welcome to the New Year!" A series of applause were followed by this. "Well, Regionals is getting closer now and we still have to decide on a set list."

"Well, Mr. Schue!" Rachel beamed as she held up her sheet music, "I have narrowed down my choices to seven categories: Céline Dion, Barbra, of course, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Flyleaf, P!nk, or, for the pop culture people, Beyoncé!"

"That's nice Rachel," Mr. Schue dismissed, "But I was talking about _for the group_?" Rachel huffed as she sat back down in her seat.

Blaine raised his hand to speak. "I was thinking we could do _Cough Syrup_ by Young the Giant," he suggested, earning an elbow to the ribs by a glaring Kurt.

"That would be a lovely solo!" Rachel interjected before singing in perfect pitch, "_Life's too short to even care at all, oh-whoa-oh_... I can totallly nail it!"

"How about a mash-up?" Tina suddenly suggested. Will looked at her intrigued.

"Yeah! That sounds like a great idea!" Finn agreed excitedly.

"But what about my solo?" Rachel cried.

"Oh shut up, Gayberry," Santana snarled, "We'll figure out your damn solo later! Let's work on The Troubletones for now!"

"And New Directions," Finn added.

"Whatever, Lumpy."

Clapping his hands again (he does that a lot), Mr. Schue had them all come up with song ideas to mash together, everyone all coming up with different ideas. Finn recommended a mash-up of Queen's _We Are the Champions_ and _Loser Like Me_ from last year's Regionals, in a way that was supposed to be ironic. Kind of clever for someone who once thought you could get AIDs from a cucumber. Santana wanted to do a mash-up of Bruno Mars' _It Will Rain_ and Adele's _Set Fire to the Rain_, which everyone really seemed to like the idea to. Puck comically submitted a mash-up of Avril Lavigne's _Girlfriend_ and Justin Bieber's _Boyfriend_. Sam and Mercedes suggested Nicki Minaj's _Fly_ and R. Kelly's _I Believe I Can Fly_, which was also well-received by the group.

Tina wanted to suggest a mash-up of _Don't Stop Me Now_ from Queen and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes soulful hit _Wake Up Everybody_, but had kept it to herself when she realized something. Holy crap! Those songs are perfect! Maybe not as a mash-up, but they are exactly the kinds of songs her glee club should sing for their Sectionals. She quickly ripped the paper from her notepad and stuffed it in her dress pocket as she told Mr. Schue that she hadn't come up with an idea yet when it was her turn to suggest a song.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Okay guys. What did you think? Tina finally figured out her set list for the Sectionals! You heard it here first folks! I haven't written the next chapter yet and I honestly don't know what's going to be in it so your guess is as good as mine! LOL! Anyway, tell me what you thought about the chapter! What did you think of the New Year's Eve scene? A nice nod to Blame It on the Alcohol (2x14) and a cute little reference to Hairography (1x11). Isn't it horrible that Blaine is still with Kurt? How about that fail moment between Tina and Joe? Hilarious! And there's no Quartie happening in this fic, that was just a one time thing that a friend of mine suggested for this fic. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it!


	10. You Get What You Give

**Author's Comments**: Sorry for the long wait but college is a priority, guys. I want to try and update as much as I can, but I am pretty swamped, so chapters are not going to come out as regularly as you're probably used to. Sorry guys. This chapter is kind of filler, but it delves into the lives of the "other characters". This fic is about showing love to the neglected characters, right? So I figured, why not give them few a little moments, too? Might even give you some insights on their personalities, who they're crushing on, and what makes them tick.

**Featured Pairings**: unrequited!Tiff (Tina/Jeff), implied!Pendletank (Pendleton/Hank), ended!St. Giselle (Jesse/Giselle), Artasia (Artie/Aphasia)

**Warnings**: Coarse language, suggestive content

* * *

**Chapter Ten  
****You've Got The Music In You, Don't Give Up, This World Is Gonna Pull Through  
****("You Get What You Give" by New Radicals)**

* * *

Jeff Sterling was aimlessly strumming the keys on the grand piano that stood in the commons where Warbler practice was normally held. He was alone and instinctively playing the notes for David Archuleta's _Crush_, a song that could definitely speak to him in so many ways and yet, it was almost pathetic to even think so. Damn, did he have it bad for one Tina Cohen-Chang. It was like that love at first sight bullshit you hear about in movies and fairytales. He doesn't even know why. He's so confused. The girl was recruiting for his glee club and he had remembered seeing her before in the background when they were going against New Directions last year for Sectionals and Regionals. But when he saw her up close, got to hear her voice... It was almost... _magical_. Man, Sebastian would give him all kinds of hell if he ever found out about his crush on Tina; let alone what he'd do if he ever found out about his mutiny to the Warblers.

Jeff was still playing the piano skillfully, singing along to the beat.

_**(Jeff)  
**__Why do I keep running from the truth?  
__All I ever think about is you  
__You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized  
__And I just got to know  
__Do you ever think when you're all alone  
__All that we can be, where this thing can go?  
__Am I crazy or falling in love?  
__Is it really just another crush?_

The blonde Warbler kept up the beat, still singing, unaware of the figure walking in right behind him.

_**(Jeff)  
**__Why do I keep running from the truth?  
__All I ever think about is you_—

Jeff jumped when he heard someone sniggering behind him and he turned to see his best friend, Nick Duval with an amused look on his face. Shooting him a glare, Jeff turned his back, red in the face from both anger and embarrassment, and continued with his song. Still with a big smile on his face, Nick sat down next to his friend and ceased Jeff's playing by grabbing his wrist.

"Jeffy's in love," he teased.

"Shut up!"

"So your girlfriend shot you down?"

"SHUT UP!"

"She did!" Nick laughed in his face, "Bro, you'll never get laid."

With a sour look on his face, Jeff sighed as he tore his hand away from him and started playing a few notes from Moonlight Sonata. Nick, being the pest that he was, kept messing him up by childishly pressing the wrong keys on purpose to screw up the music. Jeff grunted frustratingly and proceeded to smack his friend hard on the shoulder.

"I wouldn't expect you to sing something as lame as that song dude," Nick started, unfazed by the bruising on his shoulder. "I pegged you for an angsty, indie rock kind of dude."

"I wouldn't know, I never get to sing," Jeff mumbled as he continued playing, ignoring Nick sliding his fingers across the keyboard.

Frowning, Nick replied, "You gotta let that go man. You can't argue with Sebastian without being on the receiving end of his evilness. Some things are just better off that way."

Jeff didn't answer his friend. He sighed as he kept thinking about what he was going to do in the coming days. It was a week from Sectionals, at least for Tina's glee club, and they had yet to decide on a set list. A part of him wanted to quit, and almost considered doing so because it was hard being in the same room as Tina and not break down. But looking at her sweet face and how excited she was to do this, he didn't have the heart. That was his problem, he didn't even know Tina that long and only saw her on timed intervals, but he could already tell that he was in love with her. Though, he'd never say that out loud.

Love? _Love_? How could be in love after knowing her for so little time? Screw Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal again!

But it doesn't matter how or why, all Jeff knew was that he loved her. _Loves_ her. The way she smiles, her teeth so perfectly white, her hair so silky smooth, and beautiful brown eyes. And she had a pretty nice shape on her too. He wondered how a guy like this Mike Chang (Jeff totally found it weird and creepy that Tina's ex-boyfriend shared the same last name as her) could screw things up so badly with her. But then again, given how beautiful Tina was and how amazingly hot (or as Tina describes) this Sam Evans was, Jeff sort of understood where Mike was coming from. If he had Tina, he'd fight any aesthetically-pleasing guy out there who came within ten feet of her. She is totally worth fighting for. Oh, how gorgeous you are, Tina Cohen-Chang!

"Dude! You got a boner!" Nick laughed, pointing at the bulge in Jeff's pants.

Quickly clamping his hands over himself, he gave one good punch to Nick's shoulder as the shaggy-haired teen kept chortling like an idiot, before Jeff hung his head down in embarrassment, face flushed with shame.

"You got it bad for that girl, dude!"

Jeff sighed, defeated. "I hate you."

**glee**

Pendleton Bailey sat up straight from her spot in History class. Today's ensemble included adorable kittens on her cardigan with little purple and blue hearts adorning her dress. She also had sparkles on her stockings to add more emphasis; it was her best outfit yet. So sad. As her glee captain and head soloist, Harmony, was currently thinking to herself about a possible set list that could highlight her amazing talent for next year, Pendleton busied herself with what kind of costumes she could make for Tina's glee club while subsequently coming up with a name for the club.

In last week's assignment, Coach Washington had the group think of a bunch of names for the club and Pendleton's head was swimming with ideas. At first, she wanted The Pink Kittens, but she decided not to go with that one because it was too plain in her mind, and had nothing at all to do with that Giselle girl threatening to shoot her if the club ever referred to themselves as The Pink Kittens. So she went through other ideas: The Amazing Elephants, The Polka Dots, The Purple Polar Bears, or maybe even The Fluffy Bumblebees.

She was so excited about her amazing name ideas. Giselle will love these. And Hank too. Oh, Hank! Pendleton blushed when she thought of him. He was quite possibly the cutest boy she had ever laid eyes on. And so sweet, too! He was extremely nice to her, and always asked her about her day every time they had a secret glee club meeting. And those arms! He could bench press Pendleton a hundred times and she would love every minute of it. The bell rang and she packed up her things and skipped merrily to her next class.

"Pen," came the demanding voice of one Harmony Mae Carrington. "We need to talk about glee rehearsal the other day."

Shifting nervously, Pendleton allowed herself to be pulled into the school auditorium by a very pushy Harmony.

"You see, Pen," the head Unitard-in-Charge started, "Even though we lost at Sectionals to that second-rate glee club, the No Directions, that doesn't mean we can just slack off now that it's over for us for this year. We're sophomores! We have two more years to get it right. Now I have sportsmanship, I accepted that 3rd Place Trophy like any good sport, I've been working everyone hardcore in glee rehearsal so that ugly little trophy can be chiseled with a 1st instead of 3rd, okay? And your steps in _Gimme Gimme_ from the amazing _Thoroughly Modern Millie_ musical were wretched."

"I know! I'm so sorry, Harmony, I couldn't keep up with the choreography. I mean, Gimme Gimme was a much slower song than your rendition and I just think that—"

"Pardon me?" Harmony gasped, looking absolutely scandalized, "_Excusez-moi_? Penny, let me ask you something." She inched closer to the small girl with a glaring look on her face and despite being only a few inches taller to Pendleton's 5'2", Harmony managed to look gigantic compared to her. "Who is the leader of the Unitards?"

"Uh, you?"

"And who makes the set list?"

"Uhm, uhm, _you_?"

"That's right. And what is your position in the Unitards?"

"Costume design..."

"And what does that tell us?"

"That... I... need to get to work on the fabric for next year?"

"No, it means you do not give any type of suggestion, criticism or direction, because you are not qualified or talented enough for that role. And be thankful that I'm such a nice person that I don't kick your sorry, incompetent _patooty_ to the curve," the pale girl barked, "Are we at an understanding?"

"YES, MA'AM!" shrieked poor Pendleton as she jumped at these words. "Thank you."

Without saying another word, Harmony gracefully walked out of the auditorium, leaving a scared Pendleton in her wake. She felt like she was about to cry. Truthfully, she was happy that she was a part of the Fluffy Bumblebees (she decided she'll go with that one), because they were ten times more nice than Harmony will ever be. And besides, this new glee club is like a second chance for her. The Unitards totally failed at Sectionals because of the Michael Jackson songs Tina's old glee club did and that awesome mash-up of Gloria Gaynor's iconic _I Will Survive_ and the Destiny's Child classic _Survivor_.

She couldn't wait to be a part of something like that. Those guys seemed like real loving people. She smiled warmly to herself, suddenly feeling a lot better.

_**(Pendleton)  
**__A simple choice, nothing more  
__This or that, either or  
__Marry well, social whirl, business man, clever girl  
__Or pin my future on the boy I love  
__What kind of life am I dreaming of?_

Her voice carried off throughout the auditorium. She knew no one could touch her while she was safe here where she belonged. The stage was hers and hers alone. The music picked up and she started the chorus that she had practiced in her room all those years since she was 8. The band played on as she started her little Broadway dance to go with the music.

_**(Pendleton)  
**__Gimme, gimme that thing called love  
__I crave it  
__Gimme, gimme that thing called love  
__I'll brave it  
__Thick and thin, rich or poor time  
__Gimme years and I'll want more time  
__Gimme, gimme that thing called love_

She finished the song with the longest note she'd ever sung, feeling good about herself when she hit it. In her mind, "love" was the stage.

**glee**

_**(Unique with Vocal Adrenaline)  
**__Starships were meant to fly  
__Hands up and touch the sky  
__Can't stop 'cause we're so high  
__Let's do this one more time_

Before they could finish the chorus to Nicki Minaj's _Starships_, Jesse St. James viciously pressed the button on the stereo system harder than necessary as he stared at the incompetent group with malice.

"AGAIN!" he snarled, "YOU ALL KEEP MESSING UP ON THE DAMN CHOREOGRAPHY! I WANT TO SEE THAT HUMAN CENTIPEDE DONE RIGHT! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO EXPECT OF YOU FAT LOSERS?!"

The Vocal Adrenaline members were all covered in sweat and hanging in their heads in shame as Jesse continued to hurl more verbal abuse at them. Wade/Unique looked like he/she was ready to collapse from heart failure as two girls were already being wheeled away on a stretcher towards the nurse's office. Giselle Booker was in the background with the rest of the girls, rolling her eyes every so often at her coach's constant bitching. She was so over this. Admittedly, she couldn't wait to get to Ching-Chang's glee club where they're given a chance to actually add input into the choreography. It was almost like they were a family. A family of very stupid people. But whatever, at least it was better than dealing with this bullshit.

"Alright take five!" Jesse declared after he was done chewing out one member after they accidently dropped a girl on her head, effectively having her pulled away on another stretcher, "And no binge eating! I'm talking to you, Lady Bunny!" Jesse pointed to Unique as the rest of the members walked out off the stage. Most of the dancers were bruised and sore and drenched with perspiration. They also smelled like a gym sock and jockstrap mating ball.

"Giselle, I need to talk to you, baby." Jesse whispered into her ear as Giselle had busied herself with taking off her stiletto heels.

Smirking to herself, she quickly got up and wrapped her arms around her forbidden lover. "I'm glad you mentioned that, because I was just thinking the same thing. Wanna make-out in your _private_ office?"

An amused smirk played on his lips as he took her by the wrists and effectively shoved her away. Confused, Giselle put her hands on her hips and shot him the scariest of glares that she had ever conjured up. "What's this about, St. James? I'm opening the doors to my undergoods and you're just gonna shove me away like I'm some ho working the streets?"

"It's about us, babe," he started, ignoring her rant, "We're over."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"No, no. This isn't over, Jesse—"

"Actually, I think it's best from now on if you referred to me as Coach St. James."

"What?!" Giselle shrieked. "We have been down with each other since you and I were in East Lima middle school. Don't you dare act like were just business partners."

"No, I'm not going to act like we're business partners," Jesse said, confident and composed, "Business partners are equal. _I_ am above you. And not in the good way. Well, actually, for me this _is_ the good way." Giselle gasped at these words, not believing that he would say these things after everything they had been through together. "We're over, Giselle. And I think it's best if we don't speak to each other anymore." With that, he walked away from her.

Stomping her foot and scrunching her face in anger, she spat out, "YOUR HAIR IS STUPID!"

Damn him. Damn Jesse St. James! He was the best she'd ever have and he was going places. Well, she thought he was when they had first got together. Since he dropped out of college for being to stupid to actually attend his classes, he ended up back in Lima to coach Vocal Adrenaline. But for a time, she didn't even care as long as he could toss a solo or two her way. He had promised he would during one of their late night _meetings_, but he's never been able to keep that promise. Instead, he opted for to let Victor/Victoria sing all the songs and belt out high notes like that fat black girl from Loser Directions.

And a part of her almost thought she loved him. That's right. Giselle Booker had a soft spot for the talented, curly-headed tyrant with his tight jeans that hugged his cute, bubble butt. His sweater vests that made him look like Loser Directions coach, Shooter or something like that. He was quite the hottie, and he was good to her back when they started dating. And then that Rachel girl came into the picture. And Giselle believed that Jesse had almost loved Frodo Streisand over her. But then he returned after the VA members egged her big time, and they were a happy couple again until he graduated.

She gave him everything she could. All those times she'd comfort him when he got depressed over failing to get accepted into NYADA; when he dropped out of school and had to sleep on Giselle's coach for a few days; when she got the other members to convince the principal to give Jesse a job at the school as the new choir director. She gave him everything! And what did he give her? Betrayal. When was it her turn to get that damn thank you? All she wanted was a time to shine in the spotlight. That was little to ask for compared to what she's done for him!

When she thinks about it...

_**(Giselle)  
**__I've given all I can give  
__But you, you have betrayed my love  
__You said never lie, you said never cheat  
__You promised to be the perfect man for me  
__But then you changed, wasn't the same  
__You became a stranger in our home_

They were like a failed married couple in one of those Tyler Perry flicks. She cared for him and gave all that she could and still he did not appreciate her. If only life were like Tyler Perry films; a fairytale ending for her would be nice. She can finally show everyone the kind of pipes they're missing out on. Especially Jesse.

_**(Giselle)  
**__Why did I get married to you, why?  
__All those times I wasted out my life  
__Through the storms I stood right by your side  
__But you did not return the love, oh why  
__Did I get married to you?_

"Asshole," she muttered bitterly as she walked back to the dressing rooms, her feet bare and sore from practice.

**glee**

Artie Abrams was currently wheeling himself through the mall with Jeff and Tina as they searched for the nearest fabric store to start the costumes for their club. Despite not having a name yet, they at least agreed on a set list. Tina had come up with a real solid selection of songs to do and choreography had even already started with The Mack and Jeff taking over for the job. Although at several points during rehearsal, The Mack and Aphasia got into it over comments made by Giselle about The Mack not wanting to go with Aphasia's idea to sell more "booty," but Artie just suspected that Giselle wanted to cause trouble for the laughs.

Currently they were looking for fabric for Pendleton to make the costumes with. They all had agreed to keep away from anything purple, polka dotted, or had rhinestones on it because Pendleton would go absolutely insane with those kinds of patterns. The guys all agreed that there was no way they were going out there and sing in anything that sparkled, and Giselle even warned Tina that if she ever wore something as gaudy as what Pendleton normally wears, she _will_ kill somebody.

While on the way, Jeff and Tina decided to get themselves a hot pretzel as Artie chilled by the water fountain. He was glad that the two were finally talking to each other. Jeff had gone on and on about how great Tina was, and it was starting to annoy the paraplegic to no end that the blonde would not stop talking about his ex. It was clear that Jeff was in love with Tina hardcore, and the Warbler would not come down from that anytime soon. He smirked as watched Jeff offer to pay for Tina's pretzel. Such a sap.

Truth be told, after being broken-hearted by two girls, he decided to take a breather on love for now and focus on his goals. Right now, his new glee club was his main focus, and no girl was going to distract him.

"BACK UP GIRL! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M WALKIN' HERE?" came a loud, obnoxious voice that sounded suspiciously like...

"Aphasia?" Artie asked as he wheeled over to the female criminal as she chewed out some poor vender who was moving some boxes and almost ran her trolley over Aphasia's foot. "What are you doing here?"

"I was gettin' my 'stensions re-did," the girl said proudly as she played with her synthetic hair. "Whatchu doin' here, Snowman?"

Artie raised his eyebrow at the nickname, and guessed that it probably had something to do with his skin color. "I'm here with Tina and Jeff getting fabric for Pendleton to make our costumes."

"You ain't gettin' nothin' sparkly, right? 'Cause dat Holly Hobbie wannabe be wantin' to turn us all into da sunshine crew."

"Sunshine crew," Artie repeated thoughtfully. Could that be a good team name?

No way.

"Ante-way, I'm 'bout to go steal myself summtin' good from da food court," she claimed, as she continued to play with her hair. "Come with me, I don't like being alone."

"B-b-but I'm with friends..." Artie mumbled, seemingly terrified of the girl in front of him.

"I didn't say dis was up for discussion," Aphasia all but yelled, "I'm askin' you on a date and you betta be thankful I let you admire all dis." She motioned to her lithe body that Artie had to admit he glanced at once or twice during rehearsal.

"E-excuse me?"

"Don't act like I didn't catch you starin' at my good stuff, Snowman," the Jane Addams girl accused, "I knows when a man wants me and I can tells you wants me."

"I-I-I..."

"Don't talk. I like you betta when you shuttin' up," she said simply as she climbed on top of his lap, "Now roll me to da food court. My feet hurt and I want some damn Chicken Nuggets."

Feeling like he had no choice, Artie wheeled Aphasia and himself toward the food court area, leaving behind Tina and Jeff who were busying themselves with a conversation about something that Artie didn't have time to pay attention to. Along the way, Aphasia kept playing with his hair and unbuttoning the top buttons of his dress shirt. At one point, she even took away his glasses to try them on, which made him almost completely blind until she gave them back to him after he had almost T-boned a baby stroller.

"You know, Snowman," Aphasia started, "You kinda cute when you don't dress like a grandpa."

"Uh, th-thanks."

"Whatchu look like nekkid?"

"WHAT?!"

* * *

**Author's Comments**: OMG. This was not my best. I apologize. I promise the next chapter will be tons better. Anyway, leave a review and tell me what you'd like to see happen next.

**Songs Featured**:  
"Crush" by David Archuleta. Sung by Jeff.  
"Gimme Gimme" from _Thoroughly Modern Millie_. Sung by Pendleton.  
"Starships" by Nicki Minaj. Sung by Wade/Unique with Vocal Adrenaline.  
"Why Did I Get Married" by Tamika Scott. Sung by Giselle.


	11. True Colors

**Author's Comments**: Well would you look at that? I actually updated! I was just trolling through some glee spoilers and I gotta say, I'm not impressed. It seems like Tina is going to get side-lined yet again this season for a Rachel Berry carbon copy in the form of Marley Rose. Now who saw this coming? I know I did. But that's enough of that. Time for more positive things. As of right now, this story will likely end with twenty five chapters plus one epilogue, but that's still open for change. This one is a little more Joe-centric with some Tina and David Martinez mixed in. Enjoy, my friends.

**Featured Pairings**: unrequited!Quoe (Quinn/Joe), kissing!Anderhart (Blaine/Joe)

**Warnings**: Mild language, suggestive content

* * *

**Chapter Eleven  
****Your True Colors Are Beautiful Like A Rainbow  
****("True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper)**

* * *

"I just don't see why we can't be named Pot O' Sugar or Sugar & Spice," Sugar Motta huffed as she and Joe Hart got their lunch (a low-calorie meal for Sugar and a chicken salad sandwich for Joe) and made their way to an open table. "I mean, it's at least better than the Flying Piglets or whatever Mini-Rachel Berry came up with."

They both sat down on a small table by the doors that led to the courtyard as Sugar continued with her complaints. "And those songs! Not one of them has my name in it!"

"I like the songs," Joe smiled as he bit into his sandwich, "I think we're going to do great."

"Who's going to do great?" came the beautiful voice of Quinn Fabray as she walked up to the two underclassmen.

"Uh, we are," Sugar said quickly, "At Regionals! We're going to kick butt."

"Hey, Quinn," Joe greeted, smiling warmly with a puppy dog look on his face, "You look really blessed today."

"Thank you, Joe," the former cheerleader said, although she seemed a little bored. "I feel like I haven't seen you guys in a long time." She turned to Sugar. "You know, sometimes it seems like you disappear whenever we have a glee assignment on a particular singer, Sugar."

"Sorry, I don't do tributes," Sugar remarked off-handedly as she ate her carb-free yogurt. "It's so boring when you sing songs from the same people over and over. Besides, I just _had_ to get my nails done that day."

Quinn rolled her eyes at the rich girl's response before turning away and mentioning something about going to glee club for the rest of their lunch period in case they were wondering.

"Bye, Quinn," Joe waved at her kindly.

"Oh, bye Joe," Quinn responded quickly in a distracted tone.

Sugar shook her head at the scene, and smirked at the dreadlocked teen. "You know, your crush on Quinn is _so_ obvi. It's like your Ali Larter-in-Obsessed with her."

Joe blushed before commenting, "Quinn's a nice girl and she shares a mutual love of the Lord."

"Oh, Joe, you're so adorable. You're like a Martian from Jupiter or something."

"Um, Martians are from _Mars_..."

"Whatevs," Sugar said simply, "I should probably tell you, as your friend, that Quinn is absolutely not interested." Joe seemed to frown at this, before Sugar continued. "It's not your fault. She's just had many bad relationships in the past. And she is so far from the saintly Mother Theresa persona she is fronting."

"What?"

"I mean at the end of the day, no matter how many times she wants to preach about how God saved her and Jesus loves her and all that noise, she's still selfish and conceited." Sugar said simply, "At least I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a brat. I don't hide behind religion only to look like a total hypo-cricket."

"She seems nice though..."

"See, that's why you think you're in love with her," the Motta's Piano heiress started, "You don't even know her. It's the same reason why I used to love Chad Michael Murray before I found out he was a total douche. But he's still nice to look at anyway."

Joe didn't say anything. Instead, he just continued to nibble on his lunch. Sugar took his silence as a sign to continue, "You should try dating boys, they're much more fun to be with and I know this from experience."

The teen Jesus almost chocked on his sandwich when she mentioned such a thing, before looking up at her with a completely stunned look on his face. "Excuse me?!"

"What? I mean, how do you know you're not gay if you've never been with a girl or boy?"

"B-but it's a sin."

"You might not want to say that to Kurt and Blaine's faces. Or Santana's," the spoiled girl warneds, "Have you ever kissed a boy?"

"No!"

"Ever kissed a girl?"

"Uh, um—"

"So how can you say you like girls if you've never been with one?" Sugar asked with a smirk.

Joe didn't know what to say. He was starting to sweat a bit on his brow. He never once gave it thought that he liked boys. It was just unheard of. Not that there was anything _wrong_ with being gay, it was just how he was raised. His father and his mother always told him that when he'd grow up, he would find a nice _girl_ to marry who loves the Lord and always puts God before her. Naturally, when Joe met Quinn, he felt like he had finally found her, but Sugar was right to some degree. It didn't seem like Quinn was interested in him, which disappointed him a bit.

"I'm sure the only female you've ever came into contact with was your _mom_," Sugar giggled. "So maybe you could like boys and never know it."

"But I was always raised to believe that men should marry women to reproduce children," Joe stated.

Sugar rolled her eyes at these words. "You can still have kids if you're gay, it's called _adoption_! Or the least you can do is surrogacy like my old glee club director Miss Corcoran. She was Rachel's mom, which is a shame because Miss C. was so nice. And Rachel never shuts up about her two gay dads mixing their sperm together to have her as a baby. That was a totes tragic day for mankind. Not Asperger's."

The religious teen laughed at these words, before continuing his meal and listening to Sugar talk more about why he could and should be gay. He didn't really want to listen to her though, because he felt in his mind, it's _right_ that he is perfectly straight. That's what it should be, right?

"Your parents say that's what it _should_ be," Sugar said as if reading Joe's mind, which freaked him out, "But is it what you _want_?"

"Yes," Joe demanded, "I like girls."

"You know, all guys say they like girls, but they should just try out boys at least once, just to make sure." Sugar declared matter-of-factly.

"Have you ever tried out girls?" the dread-head teen asked, attempting to turn the tables. However, Sugar never once faltered.

"Of course," she replied, unfazed, "With one of the Troubletones, but it wasn't for me. And her vaginey tasted totes weird."

Joe's eyes widened when she revealed such personal details. The girl smirked again. "You know, Blaine is totally into you."

"Ex-excuse me?"

"Come on, the boy practically eye-humps you whenever you're playing the guitar," the girl said as she motioned to Mary that stood by Joe's side. "That's why Kurt is _so_ jealous of you."

Joe blushed when he heard this, before muttering, "I didn't know that."

An idea popped into Sugar's head as she started clapping and jumping up and down in her seat. "O-M-G! You two should totally hook-up!"

"No!" Joe exclaimed, flustered.

"Yes! Kurt doesn't deserve him anyway with the way he treats him. And we can all totally see that Blaine's not happy. You should totally serenade him and then you both can kiss each other passionately and then you two can fall in love and then have lots of adopted babies that don't speak English and then give them bad hair advice. Totally!"

Joe's blush was more prominent than ever. He thought Sugar was completely crazy. As much as he liked Blaine (as a friend!), he's not supposed to have any sexual or romantic feelings towards men. It's just not right. Blaine's a nice guy and all, and yeah, Joe had to admit he _was_ attractive and—Wait, no! Don't think that way! Boys don't think other boys are attractive!

_But Blaine _is_ really handso_—No! Sugar's getting into his head. Now all of a sudden he's starting to think he is gay. _Gay_?! There is no way in H-E-double hockey sticks that he will think of any guy in such a way. His parents would not approve. But was that the only reason why he wouldn't think that? Why wouldn't it be because Joe likes girls? Or being gay is just not for him? Why did Joe immediately think that he can't be gay because of his parents? Sugar really got into his head. That girl was like some ditzy, evil genius. You'd think she was the love spawn of Santana and Brittany.

Joe felt Sugar's small hand on top of his, and he looked up to see her smiling at him (or maybe she was smirking evilly at him). "Joe, there is nothing wrong with being gay," she stated, "Because love _is_ love."

"Love is love..." Joe repeated to himself, pondering the meaning.

The two friends sat through the rest of lunch talking about glee club, both New Directions and Tina's club, without mentioning another word about the gay subject. Though in Joe's mind, Sugar got him thinking about the possibilities of being with a guy. It was just strange to him. But Blaine did look pretty bummed out this morning after having yet another fight with Kurt in the parking lot. Maybe Joe will take Mary with him and try to cheer the bowtie-wearing teen up later.

**glee**

Tina was walking aimlessly down the hall from her math class when she heard it. The hallway was mostly empty, but her math teacher had decided to end class early because of an emergency at home (something about her cat choking on a fishbone. Oh, and her fish had died, too). So when Tina was walking towards the courtyard, she heard the most enticing voice since Antonio Banderas played Puss In Boots. Okay, that was a weird analogy. But still, the voice was rich and sensual and oozed sexuality. She followed the voice until she reached one of the Spanish classrooms. It was Mr. Schuester's old class room from two years ago, before he moved to another room, and Tina recognized the man with the pearly whites and perfect hair. Señor Martinez.

_**(David)  
**__Mis canciones son de la revolución  
__Mi corazón me duele por mi generación  
__Si me quieres, podemos casar en la costa oeste  
__En un miércoles, en un verano de agosto_

He was currently looking through some papers and subsequently tossing a few into the waste basket as he continued to sing with his perfect voice. Tina couldn't help but listen in on him. And she definitely recongized the beat; it was Lady Gaga's _Americano_, except he was singing some of the English parts of that song in Spanish, and he was singing it well.

_**(David)  
**__I don't speak your  
__I don't speak your language, oh no  
__I don't speak your  
__I don't speak your Jesus Cristo_

Feeling bold, Tina decided to interrupt him by singing the chorus, which surprised the handsome Latino from his spot behind his desk.

_**(Tina)  
**__Aah-aah, America, Americano  
__Aah-aah, America, Americano_

"_Ay, mija_," Sr. Martinez smiled, recognizing the girl. "Very good to see you. How are you and your club?"

"We are doing just fine, Mr. Martinez," Tina replied, returning the smile. "I see you finally got your own classroom in the daytime."

Laughing, David motioned for the girl to come in and have a seat. "Please, sit. Catch me up on your progress for your _secret_ club."

"We just started rehearsals and I think it's actually going pretty good," Tina answered, "You have an amazing voice."

"_Gracias_," the Spanish teacher thanked, "I try my best. I have this theory that people tend to learn a newer language a lot quicker through song."

Tina laughed before nodding her head. "Yeah, I actually learned a little German from listening to Tokio Hotel so much back when I was a goth." This earned a hearty laughter from Sr. Martinez and Tina laughed along with him. "You know, my glee club could really use some musical guidance. I mean, the lady we have now, Coach Washington, is great and all—"

"Is she that lady with the loud voice and the giant bronze medal she keeps shoving in people's faces?"

Tina nodded her head. "Yup, that's our glee director. But seriously, we could really use your help musically. I mean, I think we're okay so far, but I want to tweak things just a little bit so that we're close to perfect."

"Are you inviting me to your glee club?"

"Yes, I am officially inviting you to join us," the Asian smiled.

David chuckled amusingly. "I might take you up on that offer, _mija_," he said, which made Tina's grin even bigger. "I have to say, I think it's rather brave of you to stand up for yourself. To be free so you can have your own style. And uniting so many people who feel the same way? I'd say you're almost a hero to them."

Tina widened her eyes a bit, a little surprised. Now that she thought about it, she definitely was a hero to them. She originally started this club so she can be the new Rachel Berry, but she just now had begun to notice that she was really helping these kids to come out of their own shell, much like how Tina was back when she first joined New Directions. Thinking more about the man's words, Tina suddenly had an idea. She bid him a farewell and left as soon as the bell had rang for students to get to their next class.

_Free...style...unity_.

**glee**

Blaine Anderson was currently practicing a song he suggested earlier for glee, in hopes that Mr. Schue will take up his offer. He really liked the idea of making _Cough Syrup_ by Young the Giant an awesome New Directions number, and he asked Kurt if he wanted to help out, but Kurt had rejected him and told him that Schuester was going to use the _Fly/I Believe I Can Fly_ mash-up suggested by Mercedes and Sam instead. So Blaine was sitting alone in the choir room, singing a few notes from his sheet music, still feeling solemn after Kurt's cold treatment.

Blaine wanted to admit to himself that the way Kurt was treating him was just not right, and that he should leave him. However, he was too stubborn to want to stray away from him. He loved him with all his heart... But things were starting to weigh heavy on him and he feels like things are getting worse each day. Now Kurt's actually been hitting more often. Not like punches to the face or anything, but elbows to the ribs and smacks to the back of his head, and it seemed that any little thing Blaine did would set Kurt off.

He just didn't understand why Kurt was acting like this. He used to be so innocent and loving, and now...

"Oh, sorry," came a perplexed voice.

Blaine turned to see Joe walking into the room. "I didn't know you were busy. Do you want me to leave?"

Blaine did say anything. Instead, he just shook his head. Joe walked in with his guitar, Mary, over his shoulder. He sat in one of the chairs and tossed his sandals off before strumming a few times. Blaine couldn't help but watch the scene before him. He loved hearing Joe play the guitar. It sounded so angelic, fitting for such a religious kid. He had gotten the same feeling once when he heard Kurt sing _Blackbird _by The Beatles back when they were at Dalton and the Warblers had given him a mascot in the form of a canary named Pavarotti which had unfortunately passed away. Blaine always though the little bird had sacrificed itself so Klaine could be born. But nowadays, he was starting to resent that.

He looked down at Teen Jesus' bare feet. Oh, wow, did he have pretty feet. Blaine inwardly laughed when he suddenly realized he may have developed a foot fetish from Joe's adorable feet. That's... really gross.

Joe had ceased strumming his guitar before looking back up at Blaine. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Blaine answered, a little too quickly.

"You know," Joe started hesitantly, "It's okay to admit you're not happy."

"What do you mean?"

"With you and Kurt. Everybody sees what's going on, Blaine."

"You don't know what's going on," the former Warbler said defiantly, turning away as he took a seat in one of the chairs.

"Hey, Blaine," Joe asked shyly. Blaine shot him a glare, but Joe didn't let that faze him. "I wanna sing you something to make you feel better. This song always helped me out in the tough times."

Joe took Mary into his hands and started playing. He knew exactly which song to sing that would cheer Blaine up and pull him out of his funk. He used to always sing this song whenever he was said or when his family was helping out with the canned food drive at his church. It just seemed to fit this situation.

_**(Joe)  
**__Ooh child, things are gonna get easier  
__Ooh child, things'll get brighter  
__Ooh child, things are gonna get easier  
__Ooh child, things'll be brighter_

Joe was looking Blaine straight in the eye as he strummed Mary's strings with ease. In the back of his mind, he knew that Blaine was mesmerized by the way Joe flawlessly played his guitar, and a look of longing was evident in the bowtie-wearing teen's eyes. He didn't know why, but Joe's heart was fluttering every time Blaine's mouth parted as the boy listened to the beautiful way Joe sang the song, looking completely captivated.

_**(Joe)  
**__Someday, yes  
__We'll put it together and we'll get it all done  
__Someday  
__When your head is much lighter  
__Someday, yes  
__We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun  
__Someday  
__When the world is much brighter_

Blaine didn't know why he did it, but he couldn't control himself. Without warning, he leaned forward and kissed Joe on the lips with so much force that Joe was almost knocked backwards. Taken completely by surprised, Joe was completely stunned still, not knowing what to do. This was his first kiss. Ever. Even back when he was younger and a little girl who went his church and had kissed him on the cheek, saying they were going to get married when they got older, didn't even equate to this. This was his first real kiss on the lips and it was with a _boy_!

He was half-expecting God to strike him down with lightning for committing such a sin, but then he realized that if Blaine and Kurt are still walking around, unscathed, then Joe would probably be just fine. Besides, Blaine's lips felt absolutely amazing on his. Almost like a perfect fit. They were soft and full, but not overly full like Sam's probably were (Oh, God! Was he thinking about _Sam_ now?!). Oh, wow! Blaine definitely knew what he was doing in the kissing department. Unfortunately, Joe didn't have much experience, so he just sat there without really knowing how to kiss back. When he noticed Joe's still body, Blaine pulled back and had a worried look on his face.

"I-I am so sorry!" he quickly said, "Please don't be mad."

"That... That was my first kiss," Joe said softly, more to himself than Blaine.

Blaine looked completely guilty. "I am _so_, so sorry!"

Joe leaned and kissed Blaine softly, effectively shutting the out-and-proud teen up. When he pulled back, Blaine gave him a confused look. "Um, I... liked it?" Joe then looked down at his bare feet in humiliation. "I'm really not good at this."

"You're not mad?"

Joe shook his head. "I liked it... a lot." A sigh of relief left Blaine's lips, before an uncontrollable, bashful grin crept upon his face. Joe smiled sadly at him. "But my parents would kill me if they ever found out..."

Blaine nodded his head in understanding, already accepting rejection before Joe even gave it to him. "But love is love," Joe stated like it was fact, and Blaine's heart melted, "And it doesn't matter if it's with a boy or girl. If two people like each other, then they're allowed to be together." Looking back at the boy in front of him, Joe then suddenly asked, "Can you teach me how to... you know... _kiss_?"

He blushed with embarrassment when Blaine chuckled good-naturedly.

"Open your mouth," Blaine requested, before giggling when Joe opened his mouth wider than necessary. "Not too much." Joe parted his lips slightly. "Just like that," Blaine assured before leaning in again to kiss the religious teen. "Watch what I do to your bottom lip," he said before suckling on Joe's lip. He pulled back slightly. "Now do that to me while I do it to you." At this, the two boys kissed once more with Joe eagerly sucking on Blaine's bottom lip as Blaine did the same, both of their heads tilting slightly.

Before Joe knew it, Blaine had stuck his tongue in his mouth, and then he started to panic. Blaine pulled back again when he felt Joe tense up and beamed. "It's alright," he assured with a breathy voice, "Just do the same thing I'm doing."

They leaned into each other once again. The kiss slowly became more passionate, and Joe found himself enjoying this experience. Sugar was right after all.

"It feels right," Joe said out loud when the two pulled back to get some air.

Blaine stroked Joe's cheek playfully as he stared back into the deep, brown eyes of the dreadlocked teen. "It does," he agreed, though he didn't know what Joe really meant.

"You sorry, little bastard," came a voice laced with venom.

Blaine's blood ran cold when he heard Kurt's voice and turned to see the porcelain-skinned boy glaring daggers at them with Rachel and Mercedes right behind him sporting shocked looks on their faces. Joe's heart raced faster than a sinner at church. He knew he was dead. Of all the people to catch them, it had to be Kurt. And even worse, Rachel knows now and she _will_ tell everybody.

In less than five hours, Joe Hart was in and out of the closet.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Ooh! Blaine and Joe? So hot. And their ship names are funny to say. "Bloe" sounds pretty wanky and Anderhart has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?. I didn't really know which would be better so I just went for it. And oh no! Kurt knows! What'll happen next? You'll have to wait and find out. Next update will either be Sectionals or the chapter before Sectionals. I'm not sure. I haven't written it all yet. We'll see where the keyboard takes me. Anyway, leave a review and tell me what you'd like to see happen next.

**Songs Featured**:  
"Americano" by Lady Gaga. Sung by David and Tina.  
"Ooh Child" by The Five Stairsteps. Sung by Joe.


	12. Flying Without Wings

**Author's Comments**: Here it is guys. The conclusion to the last chapter's cliffhanger. So many major things are going to happen in this installment. First, you're probably going to hate me for what happens to Joe in this chapter, but it's all good because everything will be fine in the end. If you ever hated Rachel's behavior in the previous chapters, you are going to DESPISE it this time around. I was mad just writing it out, but you'll have to see what I mean. Secondly, the glee club finally gets their last member! Now if there was any character more neglected on Glee than Tina, it was this character. You'll just have to find out who I'm talking about. Now, let me talk about the name. If you didn't catch it from the first chapter, or the previous chapter, the glee club will be called Freestyle Unity. The name was derived from the TV sitcom _The Parkers_ starring Mo'Nique who is famous for her portrayal of that horrible mother from _Precious_. I loved the name and I thought it would be a great glee club name. And now, the last part... I have so many feels in this chapter from the last part. I love it so much! Unfortunately I can't tell you until the very end, but you've got to read it. It is amazing, if I do say so myself! Enjoy.

**Featured Pairings**: Tiff (Tina/Jeff), ended!Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), implied!Anderhart (Blaine/Joe), Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Brittana (Brittany/Santana), Artasia (Artie/Aphasia), flirtatious!Doz (David/Roz), implied!Pendletank (Pendleton/Hank)

**Warnings**: Coarse language

* * *

**Chapter Twelve  
****Who Can Deny the Joy It Brings When You've Found That Special Thing?  
****("Flying Without Wings" by Westlife)**

* * *

"You son of a bitch," Kurt spat out viciously as he slowly made his way towards Blaine and Joe as they stood up from their seats. Joe didn't know what to do. Just a few minutes ago, he realized he was gay and liked Blaine. Is homosexuality really that fast-acting? "How dare you? How _dare_ you?" the fashionista bit out, his voice laced with pure malice. "I wanted to forgive you for what you did with Sebastian, Blaine, but _this_? This is beyond anything you've done."

Blaine was at a loss for words. What can he say? He was caught red-handed, hands full of dreadlocks and the scent of flowers and Old Spice lingering on him; it was Joe's smell. It was heavenly, and Blaine wanted to cry right there when he realized that his small moment of happiness was over. Happiness. He actually felt something when he kissed Joe. It was different and yet it was everything he was searching for. Something he wasn't getting from Kurt anymore.

Happiness...

"And with _him_?" Kurt glared at Joe, who was still looking like a deer caught in headlights. "I should've seen this coming. You were practically humping his leg whenever he played that stupid guitar of his." He turned his attention to the said Teen Jesus and smirked, "You know, Joe. I'm surprised that someone as saintly as you would ever consider trying out boys. Isn't that supposed to be a sin against your so-called religion? And coming between a couple, too? You've hit the Daily Double today! You're going straight to Hell, you homeless-looking hypocrite!"

Joe looked down, feeling completely mortified. He thumbed the hem of his sweater coat self-consciously, and glanced at his faded jeans that had a few rips in them. His parents could only afford so much with living off his dad's profits from selling the Bible door-to-door. And he liked to think that he looked nice. His mom definitely said so. Then again, it _was_ his mom. But Kurt's words about his appearance still stung. And he _was_ right. Joe had committed two major sins in less than a day. His soul was certainly tainted now. He'll never get into Heaven with the way he handled himself today.

"Don't talk to him like that," Blaine suddenly said, surprising not only Kurt but himself as well.

"What did you say to me?" Kurt growled.

Blaine almost didn't respond, his words clogging up his throat, but he tried his best to keep going. "I-I said don't talk to him like that," he practically choked out. Standing up to Kurt was a lot more difficult than it seemed, especially when under the scrutiny of his fierce gaze. "Y-you're a bully, Kurt. You were always so nice and sweet and now y-you've turned into a monster!"

Rachel and Mercedes were still watching from the sidelines. Rachel pulled out her cellphone to call Finn and practically ordered the Frankenteen to the choir room. Mercedes walked over to Joe while Kurt and Blaine argued with each other.

"Joe, I..." she started, "What did—what's going—how?"

Joe didn't say anything. He just put on his sandals, took Mary, and ran out of the choir room, looking absolutely horrified. Tina was walking into the room when Joe practically ran her over. He whizzed straight past her and into the halls, leaving her confused. Seconds later, Finn rushed in with Puck, Mike, and Sam.

"What's going on?" the tall teen asked, "What happened?"

_SMACK_.

Blaine's face stung when Kurt's open palm collided into his face, slapping the lower part of his temple and leaving a nasty red mark on his face. As if to make himself out like the victim, Kurt started to bawl his eyes out before running out of the choir room. Mercedes immediately rushed to his aide, like any good, clueless friend would, leaving Blaine glued to his spot in the room, tears welling up from the horrible pain on his face. Before he could register anything else, he was being shoved to the ground by Finn and being wailed on by several punches to his arms and stomach.

All that boxing training and for what? In the real situation, Blaine felt completely helpless. He didn't have gloves and he knew that real fights didn't follow rules like boxing. He can probably sneak in a few good punches, but Finn is a monster, he'll just come back even angrier, and this really isn't any of his fault. It was Blaine's. He kissed Joe. He betrayed Kurt.

_But didn't Kurt betray you with Chandler_, a nagging voice in his head came.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Finn snarled as he continued his assault on Blaine before being pulled away by Mike and Puck.

"He kissed Joe," Rachel pointed out to her future husband.

"YOU DID WHAT?" the abnormally tall jock seethed as he jumped towards Blaine again.

Tina ran to where Finn was tackling Blaine into the ground and tossing a few hits at his shoulder and face. "Finn! Stop it! Get off of him!" she screamed as she laid in a few punches on his back, surprising several people with her defending of Blaine.

By now Santana and Brittany had walked in, pinkies linked, wondering what the hell was going on, with Rory and Quinn not too far behind them. Blaine managed to sneak in a few punches before Sam, Puck, and Mike pulled them apart. Finn was being manhandled by Puck and Mike as Sam and Tina tried to restrain Blaine.

"So what, dude? You're turning people gay now?" Finn yelled, making the shorter boy feel small. Well, small_er_.

"Will one of you idiots explain to me what the hell is going on?" Santana huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

"Anderson made Teen Jesus gay," Puck answered, throwing an accusing finger at the short teen. "He was kissing Joe!"

"Blaine, I didn't know you started getting into girls again," Brittany exclaimed stupidly, pouting a bit.

"I didn't—" Blaine started before Finn cut him off.

"Shut up, dude! You totally made him gay and now you hurt Kurt!" the tall boy shouted angrily, ready to rip the little hobbit apart.

"HE HURT ME!"

Everybody looked at him, shocked. All Blaine saw was red. Tina was right. It was time he stand up for himself, like she did when everyone thought she was cheating on Mike and when she was tired of being pushed aside in favor of someone more talented. Not that she's _not_ talented, by the way. Speaking of which, Tina smiled proudly when Blaine had finally spoken his peace.

"He cheated on me! And he made me feel like _I_ was the bad guy!" Blaine screamed, his face red and angry tears forming in his eyes, "He insulted me, starved me, made me feel like I was worthless and—and he hit me! That's right! He'd smack me around like I was some child that needed to be punished!" Blaine pointed all of the New Directions members. "And you all knew he was doing this to me and none of you said anything!" Most of the members hung their heads in shame, guilt all over their faces.

Tina raised her hand tentatively, "I said something," she mumbled out awkwardly.

Blaine turned to Tina and relaxed. "Thank you," he said to her, receiving a prideful smile in return.

Blaine looked back at the members with disdain. "Sorry if I didn't make everything perfect for him, and I'm sorry I'm not perfect. But I'm not going to let him bully me anymore. I'm not happy and I haven't been for a long time." He stormed away from the choir room as Mr. Schue walked in with Sugar, who was currently telling him everything that was wrong about New Directions and why she should be the star. Blaine ran past the two and down the hall, tears now streaming down his face.

**glee**

Joe was sitting in the room where The God Squad would have their meetings as he contemplated the day's events. Should he even be in here? Is he even allowed? It was safe to assume that he can no longer be a member of The God Squad after all this. He couldn't believe it. He had kissed a boy. A _boy_! With an actual penis! All of this was just too much to take in. He buried his face in his hands. He knew he couldn't tell his parents. He'd have to lie to them, and he didn't want to do that. That would just get him into even more trouble with the Lord. He was screwed. Everything was screwed.

"Joe?" came Tina's soft voice.

She slowly entered the room and took a seat next to the poor teen. "Are you okay?"

Joe just shrugged.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, earning another shrug. "Did you really kiss Blaine?"

Joe shot his head up when she said this, almost like he was worried. He wanted to deny it, but there was no use when you had three witnesses with one of them being the biggest blabbermouth in history. He nodded his head, and Tina's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't really believe it at first when the group was talking about it, so she wanted to hear Joe's side first.

"How did it happen?"

"I was playing a song on Mary to cheer Blaine up and he just kissed me," the dreadlocked teen explained, "And I was shocked at first, but then I started liking it."

Joe was disgusted with himself. How can he say that he liked kissing Blaine? It was a sin. He shouldn't... He couldn't... He mustn't...

Oh, who cares anymore? Joe loved kissing Blaine. He loved Blaine's lips on his and that funny feeling he got when Blaine was using his tongue. He loved the way Blaine's face felt in his hands when he cupped them and he certainly loved the way he smelled. He smelled... heavenly. Joe also loved the way Blaine looked when he was singing to him, like he had made him happy after all the dark times Blaine was going through with Kurt. Kurt. What a horrible person. He treats Blaine terribly and he doesn't appreciate all the things he does for him. Poor guy.

"Are you going to be okay?" Tina asked after several moments of silence.

Joe nodded his head. "Yeah," he said softly, "I just... I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Do you want to be with Blaine?" the girl asked suddenly, which got Joe thinking. Did he want to be with Blaine?

"Yes," he said seconds later. And he didn't regret them.

Tina smiled before rubbing his back soothingly. "Things will get better," she said, "I'm sure you'll be very happy with Blaine and he'd be very lucky to be with someone as kind-hearted as you."

Joe looked up at her and beamed brightly.

"Ah, Joseph, there you are," Rachel Berry's voice appeared as she shuffled into the room, nose in the air. "I'm glad I caught you."

"Um, hi Rachel," he mumbled out, confused and a little unnerved by the girl's unexpected appearance.

"We need to talk," the Jewish girl started, "It's about your relationship with Blaine." Joe and Tina looked to each other, Joe looking nervous for himself and Tina looking worried for Joe. "I don't think I have to remind you that Blaine is a very important member in our group. Next to me and Finn, of course, he is the best performer New Directions has. And having friction between teammates is unhealthy and cancerous for the club."

"Get to your point, Rachel," Tina demanded impatiently, rolling her eyes and already bored of the conversation.

"My point, Joseph, is that I'm afraid your services in New Directions are, regretably, no longer necessary and I, as captain, must ask you to cease attendance from all glee club meetings," Rachel finished.

Joe and Tina's eyes practically popped out of their skulls. "Y-you're kicking me out?" Joe asked, completely stunned.

"Rachel!" Tina exclaimed, shocked. She was absolutely horrified with what she was hearing.

"I am very sorry, Joseph. Now I just spoke to Kurt and he is very much willing to forgive you and Blaine for your deception, and I'm sure Blaine will be just fine and be ready to sing at Regionals in no time. However, your presence in New Directions will only cause more tension within the group and, as captain, I cannot allow that to happen."

"Rachel, you can't do this," Tina snarled as she was stepped in front of Joe in a protective manner while the boy in question sat there with his mouth hanging in shock and a heart-wrenching look on his face that resembled a kicked stray dog.

"I have to Tina," the animal sweater-wearing teen claimed, "For the good of the team. Joe's relationship with Blaine will only make things more awkward and I must make some tough decisions. You wouldn't understand; you're not leading a glee club."

"You're wrong!" Tina shouted before she could catch herself.

"Excuse me?" Rachel eyed Tina suspiciously.

Joe stared at Tina with a panicked look on his face as Tina stumbled on her words, searching for an excuse. "Uh, uh, I mean, you're wrong... about... kicking Joe out!" she managed, "He is just as much a part of this group as Blaine is."

"That's where you're misinformed, Tina," Rachel shook her head regretfully, "Blaine is a one-of-a-kind performer and Joe is an expendable member of this group as he is the newest member."

"But..." Joe moaned out as the two girls looked at him. "But you guys are my friends... my only friends."

"Again, I am very sorry, Joseph, but that's just the way it has to be," Rachel said, although she did not sound the least bit remorseful. "Kurt and Blaine need time to work things out and with you there, it will be difficult. I'm sure you can join New Directions next year when Blaine is taking my place as head soloist." Hearing this made Tina want to slap her. It's bad enough to hear that Joe is being unjustly kicked out, now Rachel has the gall to say that Blaine is going to be the new head soloist next year?

_Okay, not the time, Tina_, she thought to herself.

"And one more thing," Rachel started slowly, with a fake pitying look on her face, "I think it's best if you don't associate with any of the glee club members. Seeing you will likely bring up negative feelings which means performances won't be one-hundred and ten percent. I wish you the best and have yourself a nice day, Joseph."

With that, Rachel turned her heel and walked out of the room. Tina stood there speechless. She was appalled—no, _disgusted_—with what she had just heard. How dare Rachel kick Joe out and treat him like he was some casualty of war? And to say—no, _demand_—that he shouldn't hang out with his friends? That was just cruel and despicable and unnecessary. Poor Joe! He didn't do anything wrong. He wasn't even the one that started the kiss! She wanted nothing more than to just throw up...on Rachel's head. Rachel had really hit a record-breaking low this time. This was wicked even for her. No pun intended.

Tina looked back to see Joe still standing there, looking lost. There weren't any tears in his eyes, but she could tell that he was hurting.

"Joe, I..." she started but was cut off when Joe picked up his guitar and slowly walked out of the room like some mindless zombie. She watched him walk down the hall, alone, much like how he'll be without New Directions.

_No_, Tina demanded. _He won't be alone_.

He still has Tina's glee club, and she is going to make sure that he is as welcomed and loved as he deserves.

**glee**

Tina stood in line at the Lima Bean, feeling distracted. She didn't know what to do now. Joe should not be treated this way. It was beyond unfair. She wanted to cry for him, but she couldn't. As of right now, she was his leader and she had to be strong for him. She shook her head disappointedly as she remembered Rachel's words, which effectively got her even madder. She didn't know what to do.

"Just a tall latte, please," came a familiar voice.

Where had she heard that voice? She looked up and stared at the back of a very tall kid's head. He had small twists in his hair and from behind she can barely make out a rather sexy-looking stubble growing on his cheeks and chin. Wait a second, now she remembered who this was. It was...

"Matt?"

The boy turned around and looked down at Tina. His eyes widened as he recognized the girl. "Tina?"

"Matt Rutherford?" Tina laughed as she wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug. "Oh, my God! It's great seeing you! How are you? How have you been? Where have you been?"

"Which one you want me to answer first?" he joked, as he gave her a big hug back.

**glee**

When Tina walked in to her late night glee club meeting, she found that all of the members had already arrived. Joe was sitting by himself in the corner of the choir room, strumming Mary though he wasn't really into it. Sugar was chatting with Giselle about materialistic things they would like to buy as Aphasia and The Mack were currently being separated by Roz Washington after The Mack tried to pull off Aphasia's weave. Azimio was chatting with Jeff and Hank about guy stuff that Tina got bored trying to remember and Artie was currently talking to Pendleton about designs for the club.

She had Matt and Sr. Martinez wait outside to make an entrance for him as she started her announcements.

"Guys," she started, calming the chattering group. "I have some things to say." The group gave her as much of their undivided attention as possible. "First, Coach Washington, you are doing a terrific job at coaching us, but I thought that maybe you would like a little help from a really talented singer." Tina motioned for David to walk as he smiled brightly at the group of kids. The girls instantly started swooning as Azimio, Jeff, Artie, and Hank all rolled their eyes at their obvious drooling.

"Snowman, I think I'mma leave you for Señor _Calienté_," Aphasia joked, following with a very obnoxious laugh as she saw Artie's foul reaction etched on his face.

"Yo, I gotta say, Enrique Iglesias," The Mack started, her heavy Jersey-accent prominent. "You are da hottest teacha I have eva seen."

"I get that all the time," David smiled bashfully.

"No, seriously, you ever wanna teach me _conjunction junction_, I'm all legs," The Mack winked at the man.

"Okay, thank you, uh, The Mack," Tina said hastily. "So, anyway, Mr. Martinez here is—"

"Shut da hell up, Long Duk Dong," Coach Washington said suddenly as she scrutinized the handsome Latino in front of her. "You think you can just come up in here like I ain't doin' my job right and tell me how I'm s'posed to work? You think I can't sing? I'll have all of you know that I was once a member of Destiny's Child for three weeks during their world tour back in 2003. Ain't nobody can sing _Say My Name_ like I can."

_**(Roz)  
**__Say my name, say my name  
__You actin' kinda shady, ain't callin' me baby  
__Why the sudden change?_

An awkward silence filled the room. Truth be told, Coach Washington was actually not that bad. David Martinez smiled at her with his pearly whites; he seemed to do that a lot. "You know, Señorita Washington, I very much find your tenacity and aggressiveness very... very sexy."

Tina almost keeled over with laughter when she saw the ever-fearsome swim coach blush at the man's words. And seeing Roz Washington giggle like a school girl was definitely a sight to be seen.

"Well, thank you very much, Antonio Banderas Impersonator," Roz smirked, "You know I speako a little Española myself? _Qué hora es_?" This was followed by a very loud cackle that Sr. Martinez couldn't help but join in. What a weird and random pairing.

Nevertheless, Tina turned back to her group to finish her announcements. "Thank you, coach," she muttered, "So anyway, I have two more announcements." She turned her head and called, "Matt! Come on in." One cue, Matt entered the room, earning excited jeers from his old friends Azimio, Hank and Artie. "Everybody, this is Matt Rutherford, an old friend of ours from a couple of years ago. He's going to join our club, which gives us twelve total members; enough for us to compete at Sectionals!"

At this everybody started cheering. They were, at last, a complete club and they were actually going to be able to compete at Sectionals! This was so exciting. And Pendleton had finally finished her costume designs and from the looks her samples, they weren't hideous! Finally, things were going perfectly. Tina looked over at Joe, who was struggling to keep a smile on his face as he clapped for his new member's acceptance. She knew why it was so hard, and she couldn't help but feel terrible for him.

"Okay guys, one more thing," Tina started after pulling herself from her thoughts, "I came up with a name for the club." All eyes were on her, and she felt a little nervous under their piercing gazes. "Freestyle Unity."

She was met with a series of nods and acceptances. Most of the were very pleased with the name and others still nodded their heads. She hoped that the name would be well-received and it seemed like it was.

"I love it," Pendleton piped in.

"Yeah, it ain't bad," The Mack agreed.

"It's a'ight," said Azimio, giving his approval.

"It's adequate," Giselle dismissed as she checked her nails.

"It's totes cool," Sugar nodded as she twisted her hair.

"Thank you guys," Tina beamed. "Now let's get to work! Sectionals are this Friday."

Jeff stood up. "Wait a second. There's something I'd like to say."

"What's up, Jeff?"

Jeff took a spot next to Tina and stared back at the group, particularly at Joe. "So, Blaine told me what happened today between him and Joe, and I just wanted to say that it's not right." Joe looked down, still feeling the repercussions from today. "You know being at Dalton, it teaches you a lot about tolerance and whenever someone is being treated unfairly, we always make sure they're going to be alright. Always."

Joe looked up at Jeff as the blonde Warbler smiled kindly at him. "Joe, Blaine really loves you. I can tell from the way he talked about you to me and Nick. He really cares about you and the way you were treated was just terrible."

"YOU'RE GAY?!" Azimio all but yelled. "Damn, I shoulda got you laid sooner."

"Oh, shut up, you lummox!" Giselle snarled.

"You shut up, Whitney Hoe-ston!" Azimio

"Moron!"

"Witch!"

"Hey, hey! Keisha, Biggie Smalls, SHUT DA HELL UP!" Roz shouted, effectively silencing the two bickerers. "Go on, Justin Bieber."

"Thank you," Jeff muttered, ignoring the nickname. "Anyway, me, Hank, Pendleton and Artie wanted to dedicate this song to you, Joe."

Hank lifted two stools and placed them in front of the club as Artie wheeled right next to them. Jeff and Hank took a seat on the chairs as Pendleton skipped towards the guitar. Hank had been teaching her how to play privately during their spare time. The two definitely seemed to have become inseparable in the late. They are hardly ever seen without the other close by. Tina was surprised that Jeff arranged all this. Just for Joe. And without her telling him anything about the situation.

That was so... sweet.

Pendleton was strumming the guitar like an expert as soon as Jeff started singing.

_**(Jeff)  
**__Everybody's looking for that something  
__One thing that makes it all complete  
__You'll find it in the strangest places  
__Places you never knew it could be_

Joe was still aimlessly watching the trio of boys sitting on the stools (well, just Hank and Jeff; Artie was in a wheelchair), mind still numb. As the number kept going, he was slowly paying more and more attention to the lyrics. Joe wasn't the only distracted by their singing. Tina couldn't stop staring at Jeff as he sang his lines. She didn't know why she hadn't noticed it before, but Jeff looked amazing when he sung. There was some crazy pull she suddenly had. Like she knew that Jeff was...

_**(Jeff)  
**__Some find it in the face of their children  
__Some find it in their lover's eyes  
__Who can deny the joy it brings  
__When you've found that special thing?  
__You're flying without wings_

_**(Hank)  
**__Some find it sharing every morning  
__Some in their solitary lives  
__You'll find it in the words of others  
__A simple line can make you laugh or cry_

Everybody in the room listened with open ears, letting themselves be taken away by the music. Giselle, though she didn't want to admit it, really loved the way they sounded. Aphasia eyed her boyfriend lovingly as The Mack and Matt nodded their heads to the soulful ballad. Even Azimio was impressed.

_**(Hank)  
**__You'll find it in the deepest friendship  
__The kind you cherish all your life  
__And when you know how much that means  
__You've found that special thing  
__You're flying without wings_

_**(Jeff and Hank)  
**__So impossible as it may seem  
__You've got to fight for every dream  
__'Cause who's to know which one you let go  
__Would have made you complete_

_**(Artie)  
**__Well, for me, it's waking up beside you  
__To watch the sunrise on your face  
__To know that I can say, "I love you"  
__In any given time or place_

_**(Jeff)  
**__Gives me the wings that only I know_

_**(Jeff, Hank, and Artie)  
**__Those are the things that make you mine_

_**(Hank)  
**__And it's like flying without wings  
__'Cause you're my special thing_

_**(Jeff and Artie)  
**__I'm flying without wings_

_**(Artie)  
**__And you're the place my life begins  
__And you'll be where it ends_

_**(Jeff, Hank, and Artie)  
**__I'm flying without wings_

_**(Jeff)  
**__And that's the joy you bring  
__I'm flying without wings_

Everybody applauded with enthusiasm. Joe couldn't help himself. He was normally a happy-go-lucky type of guy, but the song was so beautiful that he couldn't help but shed a small tear. It was all for him, and they really showed how much they cared about him. They were his _true_ friends.

Tina felt something inside her and she didn't know what it was or how it got there, but she knew that Jeff was the one that caused it, and she had to tell him. She needed to tell him...

**glee**

After the performance, the group now known as Freestyle Unity began their choreography. Jeff and The Mack helped Matt get caught up with the steps they were planning for _Don't Stop Me Now_ as Aphasia was leading the girls with _Domino_. Throughout the entire practice, Tina found herself glancing at Jeff, who would wave at her whenever he'd catch her staring. After their dance rehearsals were over, the group was then fitted in the costumes that Pendleton made for Sectionals. The men would be wearing black suits with blue lining and bowties while the girls would be wearing a matching black dress with blue hems, blue ribbons on the waist, and their hair tied into a bun held up by a blue bow. Tina was impressed by how cute all of them looked. Pendleton really did an amazing job.

After practice was over, the group got ready to head home. Pendleton hitched a ride with Hank while Aphasia rode Artie home. Azimio offered to take Matt home as Giselle and The Mack went to their respective cars. Sugar offered to take Joe home in her limo that was waiting for her as Roz and David closed up the school. Tina had seen them chatting flirtatiously with each other as she and Jeff walked towards the parking lot.

"Well, I guess I'll see you," the Warbler said as he walked to his car.

"Um, Jeff," Tina said softly. Jeff turned to the Asian beauty with a confused look. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"That was really sweet," Tina started, "What you did for Joe."

"It was nothing."

"No, it was _something_. It was a lot." Tina leaned in closer. "Blaine once told me about the first time he fell in love with Kurt. He said that his... bird? It had passed away?"

Jeff nodded his head. "Pavarotti. Yeah, Kurt had sung _Blackbird_ by The Beatles as a kind of eulogy."

"Right. Blaine told me that when Kurt sang that song, he felt something." She leaned in closer until they were standing toe-to-toe. "He said he told Kurt that there was those moments when you meet somebody and you're like, 'Hey, I've been looking for you' or something. And I never really understood what he meant. Until now..."

Jeff's heart was racing. His breath was hitching in his throat as it tightened up. He didn't know what was going to happen next, but whatever it was, it was making him sweat.

"I think Joe was my Pavarotti," Tina revealed quietly as she stared into Jeff's eyes. "And _Flying Without Wings_ was my _Blackbird_."

Jeff's eyes widened at this admission and his lips were soon greeted with Tina's as she leaned forward and closed the already small gap between them.

The kiss. Their first kiss.

It was... amazing.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Ugh. My TIFF feels! They're exploding! What did you think? Did you like that little nod to Original Song (2x16)? Give me some feedback! I personally loved this chapter because of the obvious. Tiff! It made me sad and happy and sad again and then OMG I'm happy forever! Oh and guess what? Next chapter is... SECTIONALS! Yay! You'll finally see Freestyle Unity perform. What will happen? Stay tuned!

**Songs Featured**:  
"Say My Name" by Destiny's Child. Sung by Roz.  
"Flying Without Wings" by Westlife. Sung by Jeff, Hank, and Artie.


	13. It's Amazing

**Author's Comments**: Glee has come back finally! Well what can I say? I'm a little disappointed. I mean what was the point of that "new Rachel" storyline other than to showcase the fact that Blaine was better than everybody when he clearly was not, comparatively, if we're judging solely on _Call Me Maybe_, which Tina and Brittany clearly did the best on. It's absolutey ridiculous that Blaine won when he practically faded into the background. How obvious can Ryan Murphy get with his love for Darren Criss? And what was making Tina a bitch about? And breaking up Tike? So disappointing. However, from a non-Tina fan's point of view, it was a decent season premiere. Kate Hudson done rocked it, baby! And I'm definitely liking Kitty. I just have a weakness for bitches and that pre-op Precious line killed me. I like Marley, but I feel like they're trying too hard to get people to feel sorry for her with her poverty storyline, which is probably the reason why they made New Directions look like bullies. I'm sure she would've been likable without all that. I loved her mother though. Real sweet moment. As for Brody and Jake, I need to see more material. Brody wasn't much of a presence and Jake was trying too hard to be a bad boy. Okay enough of that, we're finally at the Sectionals chapter! Isn't it weird that the Sectionals episode of Glee happened on the thirteenth episode while this Sectionals for this story is on the thirteenth chapter? I swear that was just a coincidence. What's gonna happen? Will Freestyle Unity do well or will they lose horribly?

**Featured Pairings**: Tiff (Tina/Jeff), Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Samcedes (Sam/Mercedes), Brittana (Brittany/Santana), Anderhart (Blaine/Joe), Artasia (Artie/Aphasia), Pendletank (Pendleton/Hank), implied!Doz (David/Roz)

**Warnings**: Mild language

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen  
****It's Amazing All That You Can Do, It's Amazing, Makes My Heart Sing, Now It's Up to You  
****("It's Amazing" by Jem)**

* * *

Tina was on cloud nine when she walked into school that Friday morning. It was a drizzly day with the sky gray and depressing, but Tina's mood was far from gloomy. She was practically skipping down the hall to her locker, mind swimming with memories of Jeff and his sweet, full lips. After their kiss, Jeff had taken her out for dinner at Breadstix, despite it being almost ten at night and getting bitched at by her parents when she got home just before midnight. They talked for what felt like hours, and Tina could tell that Jeff was eager to be in her company. Her heart swelled, and her jaw was numb from smiling so damn much. She felt on top of the world right now.

"What's that smile for?" Sugar Motta piped in as she walked up to Tina's locker.

Tina beamed coyly at her, before replying. "Oh, it's nothing. I just had the most amazing time last night."

"Ooh, anyone I know?" Sugar smirked suggestively.

"It was nothing like that!" Tina laughed, "But it _was_ a someone."

This made the hyperactive rich girl gasped excitedly. "O-M-Jesus! I need all the deets. Is it that cute war-balloon blondie dude?"

"_Warbler_, and yes, if you must know."

"Tell me everything," Sugar demanded, linking her arm around Tina's as they headed to an early morning glee club meeting.

"Well, what can I say? After he sang that song to Joe, the rest was just history for me. I fell in love, and he's been crushing on me for the longest time so it was pretty easy to snag him."

"Totally romantic," Sugar claimed, "Two people from opposite show choirs, going behind everyone's backs to fall in love in secrecy. It's like a total _Romeo & Juliet_ sitch, except I don't think either of you two will commit suicide."

"That's comforting."

"And speaking of secret lovers, ever since Joe got the boot from Bitchtown Berry, he and Blaine have to see each other in private."

"Really?" Tina asked, intrigued as they neared the choir room.

"Totally!" Sugar affirmed. "I was driving Joe home in my private limo and he was totally flexting Blaine the entire time."

"Flexting?"

"Flirty texting? Stay current with the Motta lingo, Teens."

The two walked into the choir room arm-in-arm, among the last to arrive as usual. Quinn was chatting casually with Santana and Brittany as Sam was currently making Mercedes giggle in delight with his Sean Connery impression. Finn and Rachel were again making kissy-faces at each other while Rachel looked through more music sheets. I swear, it's almost like they do that all the time. Anyway, the rest of New Directions were all scattered about talking excitedly about Regionals or just general stuff.

"Hey, guys," Blaine greeted as he walked up to the two.

"Hi, Blaine," Sugar grinned excitedly at the bowtie loving boy, "Have you spoken to You-Know-Who lately?"

"Voldemort?"

"Cute, Anderson, but you know who we're talking about," Tina smirked.

The boy blushed, before grinning like a bashful dork. "We're going out tomorrow night. I wanted to go out tonight, but he said he had some church thing to do."

Sugar squealed at this news, clapping her hands together and jumping up and down in place. Tina could only smile for her friend—yes, Blaine Anderson was her _friend_—as he gushed about all the things he and Joe had _flexted_ last night. Surprisingly enough, Joe was able to find a lot of common ground with Blaine, considering his sheltered background. As Tina listened, she could tell that Blaine was very smitten with the proclaimed Teen Jesus, and Tina was nothing but happy for them. They deserved a little happiness after the crap Rachel and Kurt had pulled.

Tina's mood quickly soured just thinking about the way they treated them. Especially Joe, who isn't even here right now because of Rachel's unfair treatment. She couldn't believe Rachel would punish Joe for something that could not be controlled. And looking at her right now, Tina could see that Rachel was not feeling any remorse for what she did. And looking at Kurt, Tina could also see the boy has not felt guilty for his actions either. All that emotional, and even _physical_, abuse he put Blaine through was just disgusting and yet everyone was surrounding him and ignoring Blaine like it was the former Warbler's fault.

It didn't matter though. Joe still has Freestyle Unity and Sectionals are tonight. Tina was excited and scared shitless at the same time, anxiously counting down the minutes until the announcer introduces Freestyle Unity to the glee club world. Like any glee club leader, she started worrying about all the things that could go wrong. What if they have a wardrobe malfunction and Aphasia free boobs in front of the entire audience? What if Azimio couldn't get the steps right and accidentally steps on Pendleton? What if they get booed? What if the songs they chose weren't good at all?

"Calm down, we're going to do fine," Sugar said simply, almost as if she had read Tina's mind, which admittedly freaked the Asian girl out.

"Okay, guys, time for today's assignment," Mr. Schuester started as he walked up to the whiteboard to write whatever boring, generic glee assignment he probably stayed up all night to write about. "Alrighty guys, songs about loving yourself."

"Wanky," Santana smirked.

**glee**

The final bell rang and school was, at last, over. Tina was walking out into the parking lot when she saw Roz Washington lifting a few things out of her trunk. Wanting to be polite, she walked over to see if the synchronized swim coach needed any help.

"Why thank you, Shelby Woo," Roz beamed as she dumped a big box into the Asian girl's arms, "I would love some help. I'm just got me some new equipment for da water polo team."

Tina struggled to balance the heavy box in her arms as she glanced at the other boxes in the trunk before Coach Washington closed it. "What are in those boxes?"

"Oh those? Dat's just my extra synchronized swimming gear. You never know when you need to do some fancy footwork in da pool, hunny." A loud cackle escaped Roz's lips as she walked ahead of Tina with no box in her hand, effectively making Tina do all the work.

"So are you ready for tonight?"

"I sure am, I even got my scalp greased just for da occasion. Check it." She pointed to her sleek, short, blonde hair which shone even in the gray sky. Although, to Tina's eyes, it looked the same.

"Uh, it's looks, um, amazing," she said politely, not wanting to offend the scary coach. She was almost as fearsome as Coach Sylvester, and being on the end of either's wrath was something to avoid.

By the time the pair reached the swimming pool area, the synchronized swim team was already doing laps. Tina was so wrapped up in her love for Jeff, that she was completely unaffected when Sam came out of the pool in nothing but a tight-fitting speedo, sopping wet. Not this time. This time she was in a happy relationship with Jeffrey Anthony Sterling.

"Hey, Tina." Sam waved at her with a kind smile on his face.

"Hey, Sam."

"Some of us are going over to Finn and Kurt's for a sleepover," the hot blonde started, "The guys are gonna chill and play video games in Finn's room while the girls are going to do, um, whatever it is you girls do, in Kurt's room."

"Is Joe going?"

"I asked, but Finn said that Rachel said no. But I invited him anyway, but he said he was doing something tonight."

"Maybe I'll drop by later," Tina said dismissively, "I'm kind of busy with some stuff."

"Okay, then." Sam shrugged as he pulled her into a friendly hug before diving back into the pool.

Admittedly, Tina hated lying to Sam. A part of her kind of wished that she had asked Sam to join Freestyle Unity, but she was afraid his love for Mercedes would compromise that. If she told him, he could tell Mercedes, who would tell Rachel and Kurt, and Tina really did not want to deal with those two. And it wouldn't be fair to Sam to have him lie to her; just like it wasn't fair for Joe to lie to Blaine. Tina frowned. She bet Joe was feeling awful about lying to Blaine, but it was probably for the best right now. It's just not a good time. If they win at Sectionals, then maybe it would be a good time.

**glee**

Tina was shaking. Freestyle Unity had finally arrived at Columbus High School where their Sectionals would take place. The bus Coach Washington had rented did not provide the handicapped ramp for Artie, so Tina had to drive him in her car with Jeff along for the ride. By the time they reached Columbus, it was already 6:13PM and the competition would start in about two hours. When she had gotten off the bus, she felt a rush of energy flow through her. She was finally here. At her very own Sectionals for her very own club. She was the leader. It felt like a dream.

Freestyle Unity had exited the bus and all were immediately heading for the dressing room. Azimio was complaining about a lack of snacks during the ride as Giselle was trying her best to tune everybody out in favor of concentrating on how she was going to outshine everyone (what a Rachel). Pendleton had her fingers linked through Hanks as the two lovebirds made their way into the backstage of the auditorium. The place was not as big as the April Rhodes Civic Pavilion at McKinley, but it was definitely enough to have a full house. Several people who had arrived early were already in line to enter the auditorium, and Tina found herself a huge bag of nerves.

"You okay, babe?" Jeff asked as he rubbed her back, placing a soft, soothing kiss on her temple.

"I feel like I'm going to throw up," Tina admitted, looking green, "What if I mess up? What if everybody messes up? What if they throw stuff at us?"

"Babe, everything is going to be fine," he reassured, receiving a nod from his girlfriend.

"Everything is going to be fine," she repeated.

"TINA!" cried the desperate voice of Pendleton as she ran to the two lovers. Tina whipped her head around to see the girl's distressed state as the girl breathed out a panicked message. "Something terrible has happened!" she almost sobbed out. She motioned for the two to come to the dressing rooms.

Immediately, Tina wondered if someone had died. _Oh, no! What if Artie keeled over? What if Azimio had a heart attack from all his unhealthy eating?_ Tina never thought she'd ever be concerned for Azimio's health, but he was her teammate and she had to be there for all of her teammates, even her former bully. When Tina, Jeff, and Pendleton reached the dressing room... everybody was fine. No one seemed to be on the ground writhing in pain and no visible bleeding was apparent on anyone. They were just standing there in their street clothes with sullen looks on their faces while Coach Washington pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration as Sr. Martinez rubbed her shoulder. Tina now started to wonder if someone had lost their voice or something and couldn't perform!

"What's going on?" Jeff asked for Tina.

Giselle was the first to speak of the group. "Our costumes. They're not here."

"What?!" Tina cried. Thank goodness no one was injured or dead, but this news was just as bad in her opinion.

"I told da bus driver to load up da costumes in da bus, but he forgot," Roz explained. "Now we ain't got nothin' to perform in."

"I worked so hard on them," Pendleton all but cried as Hank came to comfort her.

"Oh, my God," Tina panicked. It was almost as if someone was sending her a sign. Like someone was slapping her in the face and giving her the finger for thinking she could pull this off.

_Good job, Tina. You brought all these people here, got them riled up, only to humiliate them in front of hundreds of people_, Tina thought.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Giselle huffed as she looked at her leader expectantly. "We can compete unless we're matching! That's like a show choir rule."

The members all stared at Tina hopefully as well. She didn't know what to say; she was at a loss for words. What can they do? Compete in their street clothes? That wouldn't work. Without the costumes, they were going to look like idiots. Eighty percent of the performance is appearance. If a group didn't look good, they're not worth the time or space. They would be deemed as "unprofessional" and be written off the second they got on stage. They all needed to wear matching costumes, even if they were gorilla suits.

"Wait a minute!" Tina jumped when she heard Coach Washington's voice shout out. "I got an idea! I can fix dis!"

She grabbed Sr. Martinez by the hand and quickly left the room. Tina checked the time: an hour until the competition starts. They pulled second, which means that they really needed to knock this one out of the park. If you pulled first, you set the bar; if you pulled last, you're fresh in the judges' mind. Getting second is the worst position in competitions and that was something that didn't go unnoticed by Tina. Nobody said this was going to be easy, and it certainly wasn't.

Coach Washington and Sr. Martinez returned to the room with two large boxes and plopped them down on the floor. The glee members all searched the box and Tina looked in horror at the "costumes" that Coach Washington expected them to wear. It was the synchronized swimsuits that Tina, Artie, Joe, and Sugar had worn for the _We Found Love_ performance they put on for when Mr. Schuester proposed to Ms. Pillsbury. The girls' costumes looked like the swimsuits from the sixties with the navy-colored Daisy Dukes and red-and-white striped tops while the boys' were red wifebeaters and navy trunks.

"These?" Tina cried as she took out one of the suits, "The _We Found Love_ swimsuits?"

"These weren't really flattering to my Kardashian," Sugar quipped as she patted her butt for emphasis.

"It's da best I can do on short notice," Roz remarked.

"This is ridiculous! We can't wear these!" Giselle huffed, "We're going to look like idiots! They're going laugh and throw rotten fruit and trash at us."

"Why would the audience randomly have rotten fruit and trash?" Pendleton asked behind a screen as she got undressed to get into her swimsuit.

"Look Keisha, you can either wear dat damn swimsuit or you can feel my wrath and get knocked down on yo' bougie ass," the fearsome coach threatened as Giselle begrudgingly got dressed into her "costume."

The boys were already finished with their costumes, and looked even more ridiculous once they had to put on their dancing shoes, which looked totally mismatched. The girls looked comparably better as they did their hair into tight side-buns with a prop flower that they had found in the boxes along with the costumes. The heels they wore were clear, so they looked at least better than the men. But then again, that wasn't saying much.

"Dang, Coach Washington!" Azimio complained as he adjusted himself in his tight swim shorts and struggled to get the hem of his wifebeater to cover up his big belly. "These clothes way are too tight! They squeezing my good bits!"

"Well, I'm terribly sorry, you poorly-named child," Roz quipped, "But my synchronized swimming gear only comes in small, medium or large. They don't come in "hippo." You betta lay off da Happy Meals."

Azimio pouted as Hank patted his shoulder good-naturedly, trying his best not to laugh at Coach Washington's remark.

"Now look, all of you," the formidable coach started, "I was once in yo' position. I was at the point where I thought I couldn't do nothin' about the bad things in my life. But I had a dream!" For emphasis, she shouted out dream in a way that was similar to a Martin Luther King speech. "Dat one day I would change my life for da betta and—"

"We don't have time for that now!" Tina rushed, "We have to make sure we can perform in these clothes! Come on guys; let's get to the dance studio!"

Immediately, the kids all rushed out of the room past Coach Washington. She turned and called after them as she and Sr. Martinez walked towards the studio with them, "Alright, but I'm finishin' dis damn speech when we're celebrating at da Red Lobster!"

**glee**

The competition started at eight. Freestyle Unity watched from backstage, too embarrassed to walk out in their swimsuits. The judges for the event were announced by a fat, balding man who looked extremely bored by his job as a show choir announcer. Candace Dystra, former fifth runner-up at the Miss Ohio 2006 pageant, was among the judges and Tina remembered her from her first Sectionals competition. Tina guessed she couldn't find a better job. Second was stripped-turned-nun Sister Mary Constance, whose sassy personality is always a welcome treat for the audience. And last, and certainly _least_, was Rod Remington, the douchey news anchor from WOHN News 8 where Coach Sylvester used to have her "Sue's Corner" segments. Tina was not very fond of him.

The Columbus High School's glee club, Oral Ascension, were the first to perform. They started theirs off with a mash-up of _It's Your Thing_ by the Isley Brothers and an inappropriate cover of _Wild Thing_ by Tone Lōc, followed by a decent cover of Adele's _Set Fire to the Rain_ by a small black girl who reminded Tina of a Mini-Mercedes, and finishing off with a catchy performance of Pat Benatar's _Hit Me With Your Best Shot_. Tina remembered mashing that song up with Blondie's _One Way or Another_ back when New Directions and The Troubletones duked it out during that dodgeball match that ended with Rory getting a bloody nose. Oral Ascension's performance was over and they were met with a very enthusiastic applause, expected since this was their territory.

Freestyle Unity was now up, and they all tentatively took their places on stage behind the curtain, their backs to the crowd's point of view. Tina's legs felt like Jell-O and she had that feeling of throwing up again. She had performed in front of a crowd before. Why was this any different?

"And now, please give a warm welcome to the write-in choir of Freestyle Unity!" the announcer called out.

The curtains were going up. Oh, shit. This was real. Maybe before the music started, Tina could make a run for it, drive home and pretend this never happened. No, she can't back out now. She's in too deep. From afar, she could hear the laughs as the audience immediately noticed the odd way they were dressed. No, Tina couldn't run away now. She's not running away. She's staying here, damn it, and she is going to sing her ass off.

_Alright, Cohen-Chang. Show Rachel Berry who the real boss is._

Jeff turned and moved forward, sighing to himself. He, too, felt ridiculous, but the show must go on.

_**(Jeff)  
**__Tonight...  
__I'm gonna have myself  
__A real good time  
__I feel alive and the world  
__It's turning inside out  
__I'm floating around in ecstasy  
__So..._

_**(Jeff with Freestyle Unity)  
**__Don't stop me now  
__Don't stop me  
__'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time!_

Immediately, the dance number was put into the performance. The Mack and Jeff really put a lot of effort into the moves. Most of it was a combination of Tango and some Vocal Adrenaline stunts that Giselle was able to sneak into the choreography. Tina wasn't too thrilled about stealing other glee clubs' dance moves, but then again she did steal their performers.

_**(Hank)  
**__I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies  
__Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity_

_**(Artie)  
**__I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva  
__I'm gonna go, go, go  
__There's no stopping me  
__I'm burning through the skies, yeah_

_**(Joe)  
**__Two hundred degrees  
__That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit  
__I'm traveling at the speed of light  
__I wanna make a..._

_**(Freestyle Unity)  
**__Supersonic man of you  
__Don't stop me now_

_**(Jeff)  
**__I'm having such a good time  
__I'm having a ball_

_**(Freestyle Unity)  
**__Don't stop me now_

_**(Hank)  
**__If you wanna have a good time  
__Just give me a call_

_**(Freestyle Unity)  
**__Don't stop me now_

_**(Joe)  
**__'Cause I'm having a good time_

_**(Freestyle Unity)  
**__Don't stop me now_

_**(Artie)  
**__Yes I'm having a good time  
__I don't want to stop at all_

_**(Azimio)  
**__I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars  
__On a collision course  
__I am a satellite I'm out of control_

_**(Matt)  
**__I am a sex machine ready to reload  
__Like an atom bomb about to  
__Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh explode_

_**(Artie)  
**__I'm burning through the skies, yeah  
__Two hundred degrees_

_**(Jeff)  
**__That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit_

_**(Joe)  
**__I'm traveling at the speed of light  
__I wanna make a..._

_**(Freestyle Unity)  
**__Supersonic woman of you_

_**(Freestyle Unity Girls)  
**__Don't stop me, don't stop me, don't stop_ me  
(_**Artie**:_ Hey,_ hey, hey!)  
__Don't stop me, don't stop me  
__Ooh-ooh-ooh  
__(__**Artie**:_ I like it)  
_Don't stop me  
__(__**Artie**:_ Have a good time, good time)  
_Don't stop me, don't stop me_

Artie, with an electric guitar in hands, played the best guitar solo of his life, making the crowd go wild. Everything was going perfectly, and Tina felt like she was ready to do the next number, which was _Domino_. Eventually, they reached the end of the song, with Jeff closing up the number. It was fitting the group's eyes that since he would be starting it off, he'd be ending it. And Tina felt so much pride for her boyfriend. Oh, yeah. That hot piece of Warbler ass was hers alright.

_**(Jeff)  
**__(**Freestyle Unity**: Don't stop me now)  
'Cause I'm having a good time  
__(**Freestyle Unity**:Don't stop me now)  
Yes I'm having a good time  
__I don't wanna stop (**with Freestyle Unity**: at all)_

The song was over and the crowd erupted into a bigger applause. The Treblemakers were pissing their pants while Oral Ascension just looked pissed. The boys quickly left the stage to let the girls handle their group number. The familiar chord to _Domino_ was starting and Giselle was starting things off. She added a little sassiness to her performance, as always, and Tina could tell the other girls were getting into it too.

_**(Giselle)  
**__I'm feeling sexy and free  
__Like glitter's raining on me  
__You're like a shot of pure gold  
__I think I'm 'bout to explode_

_**(Tina)  
**__I can taste the tension  
__Like a cloud of smoke in the air  
__Now I'm breathing like I'm running  
__'Cause you're taking me there  
__Don't you know  
__You spin me out of control_

_**(Pendelton and Sugar)  
**__Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh_

_**(The Mack)  
**__We can do this song right  
__Damn, this love is skin tight  
__Baby, come on_

_**(Pendelton and Sugar)  
**__Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh_

_**(Aphasia)  
**__Boomin' like a bass drum  
__Sparking up a rhythm  
__Baby, come on_

_**(Pendelton and Sugar)  
**__Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh_

The girls were dancing even better than the Cheerios and Troubletones combined (which was actually just the Cheerios, really; so that analogy made no sense). It doesn't matter; Tina was rocking it along with the rest of the girls. The Mack sure knew show to bend her back. Tina figured she had tons of practice, and Aphasia really knew how to shake her booty. Girl got back. Sugar and Pendleton were doing fantastically as Giselle and Tina led the group number.

_**(Tina with Freestyle Unity Girls)  
**__Rock my world until the sunlight  
__Make this dream the best I've ever known  
__Dirty dancing in the moonlight  
__Take me down like I'm a domino_

_**(Giselle with Freestyle Unity Girls)  
**__Every second is a highlight  
__When we touch, don't ever let me go  
__Dirty dancing in the moonlight  
__Take me down like I'm a domino_

To end the song, the girls all lined up together and one by one, fell into each other's arms like actual dominoes, a trick that was definitely well-received by the audience. Tina was breathing so hard, she thought she was going to pass out. She had a biggest and goofiest grin on her face. It was that moment again. The moment she experienced back at New Directions' Sectionals when she sang _ABC_ by The Jackson 5. It was back and there was no Rachel Berry or Blaine Anderson around to steal this from her.

The boys were back and the music for _Wake Up Everybody_ was starting. Tina only had five minutes to get herself together and perform, but she's done this a million times. Most of them have, and their stamina and adrenaline was through the roof that night.

_**(Hank)  
**__Wake up, Wake up, Wake up, Wake up_

_**(Artie)  
**__My people in the east, yo', you've got to wake up  
__Midwest, dirty south, yo', you've gotta stand up  
__All my homies in the west, yo, you got to wake up_

_**(Hank)  
**__Wake up, Wake up, Wake up, Wake up_

_**(Giselle)  
**__Wake up everybody, no more sleeping in bed  
__No more backwards thinking, time for thinking ahead  
__The world has changed so very much from what it used to be  
__There's so much hatred, war, and poverty_

_**(Tina)  
**__Wake up all the teachers time to teach a new way  
__Maybe then they'll listen to what you have to say_

_**(Pendleton)  
**__'Cause they're the ones who's coming up  
__The worlds is in their hands  
__When you teach the children  
__Teach 'em the very best you can_

_**(Joe)  
**__Wake up all the doctors make the old people well  
__They're the ones who suffer and catch all the hell  
__But they don't have so very long  
__Before the judgment day  
__So won't you make them happy  
__Before they pass away?_

_**(The Mack)  
**__Wake up all the builders time to build a new land  
__I know we can do it, long as we lend a hand  
__The only thing we have to do is put it in our mind  
__And surely things will work out_

_**(The Mack and Sugar)  
**__'Cause they do it all the time_

_**(Freestyle Unity)  
**__(**Tina**: Hey, yeah)  
__The world won't get no better (**Tina**: Get no better)  
__If we just let it be (**Tina**: Let it be)  
__The world won't get no better  
__We gotta change it, yeah, you and me (**Tina**: We gotta change it, yeah)  
__The world won't get no better (**Tina**: Won't get no better)  
__If we just let it be (**Tina**: Let it be, let it be, let it be)  
__The world won't get no better  
__We gotta change it (**with Tina**: yeah, you and me)_

_**(Matt)  
**__Wake everybody no more sleepin' in bed  
__(**Hank**: We got to get on up)  
__No more backwards thinkin' time for thinkin' ahead  
__(**Hank**: Time for thinking)  
__The world has changed so very much from what it used to be  
__(**Hank**: What it used to be)  
__There's so much hatred, war, and poverty_

The ending chorus came with all of them singing. With the last note belted out by Giselle, the song had ended and they received another huge applause. Tina wanted to cry. She had done this. She put together this team of random and neglected people and brought them together to make this beautiful performance.

She did it...

Freestyle Unity left the stage, still in synchronized swimming gear and into the dressing rooms where they were all jumping for joy at their accomplishment. Sugar and Pendleton were jumping and downs like giddy school girls while the boys were giving each other good-natured punches on the shoulders and headlocks. Boys, Tina will never understand them. Aphasia, Giselle, and The Mack were all coming at Tina to talk about how amazing their performance was with Giselle bragging how she thought she was the highlight of the night (no, seriously, she's such a Rachel). Tina was pulled away from the girls by Jeff, who planted a shameless kiss on her lips, receiving cat calls from various members, specifically Azimio, Artie, Matt and Sugar.

Roz and David entered the room, smiling like proud parents as their glee kids were chatting excitedly about how they have a legitimate shot. The only thing that could ruin this moment was losing Sectionals, but Tina didn't want to think about that right now. Right now, she wanted some tongue action from her hot boyfriend.

The Treblemakers were next to perform who did decent enough with their medley of Lady Gaga songs (Azimio deemed it gay right away), and their mash-up of _Americano_ and _Alejandro_ was a tune that Tina definitely loved, but she could tell by the lukewarm applause that they were not as good as Freestyle Unity. Talk about raising the bar. Tina felt extremely proud of herself. It was now time for the judges to deliberate on who should win and Tina felt nervous again, fearing that if they were that good it wouldn't take them this long for them to decide. Minutes passed by, which felt like hours, until the bubbly Candace Dystra walked onto the stage in a bright, pink dress with Sister Mary Constance, ready to announce the winners.

"Well, Sister Mary Constance, isn't this such a wonderful night for show choir?" Candace started cheerfully, "Why, when I was a little girl in my paegent days, I used to love performing music. I once made it to the final casting call for _Toddlers and Tiaras_, but I lost it to a girl who can belly dance while singing Madonna's _Erotica_."

Unimpressed, the nun snatched the envelope from her. "Girl, gimme that envelope. You white people are always stalling with your lame and inappropriate stories about how you are all losers," she muttered as she fished the note out of envelope. "And the winners for the 2012 Midwest Show Choir Sectionals competition are..."

Tina's heart stopped. Here it goes. The first step to being a true glee club. If they lose now, all this hard work and secrecy was for nothing. She looked to her glee club with a contemplative look. They were all holding each other's hands, when just two weeks ago, they were at each other's throats. Now, they were depending on each other for emotional support. They all worked hard to get here, just like Tina. They all got the recognition they finally deserved after all the crap they went through. And Tina finally got her standing ovation without Rachel Berry there to ruin it. She knew that if they didn't win, their souls would be crushed. It dawned on her that they wanted this just as bad as she did. They wanted to be the Rachel Berrys as well, not just her.

Please... please... let it happen.

"Freestyle Unity!" An eruption of applause followed the announcement. Tina didn't know if the crowd was the loudest or if Freestyle Unity was.

It didn't matter. They had won.

**glee**

The group left the auditorium about half an hour later with Sr. Martinez carrying the big 1st Place trophy as everyone else carried a small individual trophy for themselves. They already got out of their swimsuits, thankful that they didn't have to wear them anymore and were all ready to head out to dine at the Red Lobster back in Lima. Everyone was in a post-competition high, already acting like they could take Regionals and then win Nationals. Tina was amused at their enthusiasm and would be lying if she said that she didn't feel a little cocky herself. She felt amazing. No one words could express how happy she was, especially with Jeff by her side.

She looked at her boyfriend with lovingly as they sneaked in a few kisses behind Artie's back while Tina pushed him towards her car.

"I can hear you," he muttered as he commenced with texting Aphasia on his phone.

Jeff, Tina, and Artie had finally reached Tina's car when they stopped dead in their tracks. Jeff didn't recognize them at first until he saw the pale looks on Tina and Artie's faces and realized who they were. There, standing by Tina's car, were most of the New Directions, all staring at them with disappointed looks as Rachel Berry glared harshly at Tina.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: So the truth is finally out. What did you think? What's going to happen next? I bet you can't wait to see how this goes down, right?

**Songs Featured**:  
"Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. Sung by Freestyle Unity.  
"Domino" by Jessie J. Sung by Giselle, Tina, The Mack, Aphasia, Pendleton, and Sugar.  
"Wake Up Everybody" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. Sung by Freestyle Unity.


	14. Listen

**Author's Comments**: Hey, guys. Sorry I've been a little MIA lately. So we're only two episodes in to Season 4 and I am still unimpressed with it. It seems like things are going to be even worse now with the Blaine situation. Without Rachel, Finn, or Santana to hog the spotlight, McKinley is going to be taken over by Blaine, therefore pushing Tina away again. First he gets lead soloist, now he's going for class president? He'll probably win too, because you know Ryan. And what's with the newbies hogging so much screen time? Why can't the writers do what they did with Sam and give them to us in small doses instead of just shoving them down our throats like they did with Blaine? Ugh. Enough ranting. I'm getting a blood clot in my head. Now, onto the chapter! After the cliffhanger last installment, you're probably wondering what will happen now that the truth has finally come out about Tina's glee club. Well you'll be finding out right now, and I'm sure you'll be satisfied. And there's also a little Joe angst added in. I hate when Rachel's mean to Joe, but I do like writing it out. I'm weird like that. Anyway, enjoy!

**Featured Pairings**: Tiff (Tina/Jeff), unrequited!Tike (Tina/Mike), Finchel (Finn/Rachel), Brittana (Brittany/Santana), Anderhart (Blaine/Joe), Samcedes (Sam/Mercedes)

**Warnings**: Strong coarse language, some violence

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen  
****I'm More Than What You Made of Me, I Followed the Voice You Gave to Me, But Now I've Gotta Find My Own  
****("Listen" from **_**Dreamgirls**_**)**

* * *

"R-Rachel?" Tina breathed out, "Wh-wha—"

Tina, Artie, and Jeff were standing in front of the group with guilty looks on their faces. Artie had grown pale and was shaking in his wheelchair, already planning out his last will and testament because he was pretty sure the New Directions were going to kill them. Jeff didn't really recognize the group at first glance until he saw Blaine standing between that Macaulay Culkin look-alike and that mean, Hispanic cheerleader Sebastian hates. Tina didn't know what to do or where to go. The jig was up. No point in running away, it'll only prolong the inevitable.

"That was quite a performance, Tina," Rachel said snidely, giving the girl the nastiest sneer, "The swimsuits were a bold choice."

"How did you find us?" Tina demanded.

"Lucky Charms led us to you," Santana quipped, jerking her head in Rory's direction.

Rory stepped forward a bit to explain himself, "I was following Sugar on the Twitter and it tagged her here in Columbus."

"I didn't even know the Irish had computers," Rachel commented, "I always thought they didn't have electricity in their wooden cottages."

"That's really offensive," Jeff mumbled, deadpanned.

"And on top of that, you have been acting really suspicious lately, Asian Number One." Santana crossed her arms and looked at the girl as if expecting an explanation. "A little elaboration, _por favor_, a'fores I ends you."

Tina stood there without saying a word. Jeff squeezed her hand comfortingly, almost protectively and she felt safe all of a sudden. She looked back at her friends; all of New Directions were there except for Puck and Quinn. For the most part, they either sported angry looks, disappointed looks or confused looks. She looked over at Sam, but couldn't read his expression. He almost looked sympathetic, but she wasn't really sure. Mike was openly glaring at Jeff as soon as he saw that he had his hand laced through hers.

"Who is this guy?" the Asian dancer asked jealously.

"Jeff," Blaine answered, although his mind seemed a little muddled. "What are you doing here? What happened to the Warblers?"

"Um..." What could he say? That he was tired of being pushed aside in favor of someone more talented? That could work, but he was too tongue tied to string together a simple sentence. Instead, he squeezed Tina's hand again, this time trying to find comfort instead the other way around.

"Tina?" Mike demanded, staring at her with an expectant look.

"He's my boyfriend," Tina answered before she had time to think.

Mike looked like his eyes would pop out of his skull, mouth hanging limp and a devastated expression on his face.

Santana walked forward to eye the blonde Warbler up and down, scrutinizing his every appearance. "Not bad, Cohen-Chang. Kind of a downgrade from Sam."

"Excuse me?" Jeff said, confused.

"I never dated Sam, Santana!" Tina shot back.

"Yeah, you only made-out with him," Mike spat out venomously as he leaned back sullenly against Kurt's navigator.

"What?!"

"Shut up, Mike!"

"Tina, you can talk about your insignificant relationship problems another time," Rachel demanded as she stomped over to the Asian with a vicious look. "Why did you do this? I only assume that it was you who spearheaded this because Artie is incapable of coming up with this plan because he _used_ to be heavily loyal to Finn, and Sugar and Joe are completely useless in the upstairs department." Rachel glared at Tina, but Tina stood her ground, letting go of Jeff's hand as she stood toe-to-toe with the Jewish girl. She was ready; she had been waiting for this confrontation for a long time now. "And you are the only one with motive."

"Yeah, you're right," Tina confessed, "I did it. I came up with this idea and I was the one that put together the club. With the help of Artie, of course. And I'm not ashamed of it."

"Why?" Finn asked, completely confused. "Tina, we're supposed to be a family!"

"Because I was tired of all this bullshit of Blaine and Rachel and you and Santana and Mercedes and all of them getting their moments in the spotlight," Tina all but yelled, "I wanted my turn, too!"

"Not this again!" Mike groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Who is Sam?" Jeff whispered to Artie before the wheelchair bound boy pointed him out.

"The guy who looks like Macaulay Culkin on steroids," the AV club teen said simply. Jeff's eyes widened when he noticed how good-looking the blonde New Directions member was, instantly feeling insecure.

"Tina, this is ludicrous," Rachel shrieked, "This is beyond betrayal, this is a turncoat!"

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, Rachel," Tina remarked, though she was not sincere about her apology because why should she apologize to the bitch? Wow that felt good to say. "I wanted my chance to sing. If you had been there for Sectionals, it would've been you out front and me thrown into the back."

"That's because I'm good!" the New Directions leader stated nastily. "I'm the head soloist and you are just a back-up singer! Deal with it! This is my year, Tina. You can always sing back-up next year!"

_SMACK_.

Rachel was sent into the asphalt, a nice, red mark in the shape of Tina's hand stretching from her right cheek down to her jaw. Letting out a sigh of relief, Tina smirked at what she had just done. She had slapped Rachel Berry, and it felt _so_ fucking good. She didn't even care about the stinging feeling in her hand because she received a joyous sense of pleasure from knowing that Rachel's face hurts a lot worse right now. Rachel shrieked in pain as Finn rushed to aide his fiancée.

"Oh, my Barbara! My lip!" Rachel cried dramatically as Finn helped her up. She padded her bottom lip with her thumb, noticing the small split she had received from Tina's slap.

"Oh, come on!" Santana whined, "I wanted to be the first one to slap Gayberry!" The feisty cheerleader mumbled several curses under her breath in Spanish as Brittany padded her back comfortingly.

Rachel shoved herself from Finn's grasp as she shouted, "YOU ARE SO IN TROUBLE WHEN WE GET BACK TO NEW DIRECTIONS!"

"In case you didn't realize it, I'm quitting New Directions!" Tina shouted at her.

"Fine, then!" Rachel snarled. This was probably the first time Tina had ever seen her so flustered, it was almost too funny. "You can keep Sugar and Joe; they were useless to us anyway, but we're not leaving without Artie."

With a snap of Rachel's fingers, Finn and Mike took hold of Artie's chair so they could put him in Kurt's navigator. Jeff tried to come to his defense, but Finn pushed him into the asphalt easily. Tina was torn between helping Artie and helping Jeff, but figured that she wouldn't be able to fight the two jocks off so she rushed to help Jeff up.

"It's okay, Artie," Tina reassured the panicking paraplegic as Mike and Finn loaded him into the car against his will, "They can't keep you hostage. You don't have to stay in if you don't want to."

"Why wouldn't he want to stay with us, Tina?" Rachel smirked as her fiancé closed the door on a sulking Artie, "He gets to sing, unlike you. I'm sure the only reason he joined was because you manipulated him into thinking that he doesn't get enough appreciation in this club."

"He doesn't," Tina shot back, "All this club is ever about is you, Finn and Blaine. You have everyone brainwashed into thinking that. That's why Santana, Mercedes and Brittany left."

"Girl Chang's got a point." Santana nodded her head. "Maybe you should let her sing, like, one line in the group number. Make everybody happy."

"No, Santana," Rachel declared, "She has to live with what she's done. You can come back to New Directions if you want, but from now on, you're going to be in the background more than ever. I'll make sure of it."

"Hey!" Jeff scolded as he stood in front of Tina protectively, "Don't talk to her like that!"

Mike had to be held back by Sam and Finn after the Asian dancer tackled the Warbler to the ground. Tina made it a point to smack him in the head a few times as Sam and Finn pulled him away, helping her boyfriend from the ground again.

"We're leaving." Rachel snapped her fingers as the other New Directions members got back into their cars and drove off with Artie, leaving the remaining Freestyle Unity members alone in the Columbus High parking lot.

**glee**

After news of Tina's deception had spread to the ears of the fearsome cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester, she ordered Becky Jackson to pull the Asian singer out of her third period Chemistry class to come to her office. Tina was sitting in uncomfortably in the formidable coach's office, which was adorned with various trophies, ribbons, and photographs of Coach Sylvester's conquest as a cheerleading coach. Coach Sylvester was sitting at her desk, scrutinizing the young girl in front of her for a good twenty minutes before speaking.

"Nina Conan-Ching," she started.

"It's Tina Cohen-Chang," Tina corrected.

"Have a seat."

"I'm already sitting down—"

"I've just received some interesting bits of information from a little birdie," the coach continued. Tina inwardly rolled her eyes as she knew exactly who that "little birdie" was. "And by 'little birdie', I really mean an insufferable harpy in the form of Rachel Barbra Berry." The coach glared at Tina, which was a lot scarier than Coach Washington's and Rachel's glares put together. "You've committed treason," the old woman accused, "In certain countries you could be executed for such actions alongside the polygamists and horse rapists."

Tina scrunched her face in confusion as she let the Cheerios coach continue with her rant. "Now I understand that singing pointless 'oohs' and 'ahs' in the background with Wheezy belting out a loud high note and Porcelain doing his really weird and gay hip movements can be very frustrating. Especially when the annoying half of Finchel and that short gay, kid with the unfortunate eyebrow growths are always singing lead vocals out front. But let me repeatedly slap you in the face with a little bit of 'this is how it is'." Coach Sylvester leaned forward on her desk, staring directly into Tina's frightened eyes. "Life has its balance. Barbra Streisand and Young Peter Gallagher are the stars, and you, Margaret Cho, are not. Since my maternity leave is impending, Black Sue is trying to steal my Cheerios and I can't have that. So I promised Figgins that if New Directions take Nationals, then the school will get $10,000. And if they do, I can maintain my leadership of my squad. Do you realize that under my tutelage, New Directions will no doubt succeed at winning that money for the school? And by 'school', I really mean the Cheerios."

Sue smirked evilly as she thought of all the possibilities she would have with that kind of money. And it'll be easy to snag it from that moron Figgins easily. She looked back at Tina. "I can't have cancer affecting my cash flow. It'll ruin my chances of providing a better life for my not-yet-conceived, unborn child and new pom-poms for the squad. So, this is how it is, Connie Chung, you and Stumbles will cease all activities with this new glee club of yours which has managed to gather an even bigger group of losers than Schuester's band of misfits. And you will remain in New Directions, in the background where you belong, singing barely audible harmonies with your other Asian boyfriend as he pops and locks and does whatever other dance moves those idiotic, mouth-breathing teenagers in the _Step Up_ movies do. Understand?"

"Mike is not my boyfriend," Tina declared defiantly before receiving a harsh leer from Sue. She sighed. "Yes, Coach Sylvester."

"Good. Now get your failure out of my office, Sandra Oh."

**glee**

After her fifth period ended, it was time for lunch. Tina was putting her math book into her locker when she was greeted by an unexpected visitor: Joe. She mustered a sad smile as the boy gave her a sheepish grin.

"Blaine told me what happened," he said suddenly, "He was real upset with me."

Tina immediately felt terrible. She knew that Joe didn't want to lie to Blaine about Freestyle Unity, but she had to. But then again, all her lies caught up with her and everyone found out eventually. She looked up at Joe sympathetically, "I am so sorry, Joe! I didn't mean to ruin things with you and Blaine, I just..."

Joe chuckled, and Tina looked at him confused. "It's okay, Tina, we didn't break-up. He was just disappointed that I didn't tell him. He's a little sensitive about lying after that whole thing with Kurt, so I told him the full truth and he accepted it. I'm kind of glad though, because I don't want secrets between us anymore."

"I'm still sorry about all this, I should've never made you lie to Blaine," she smiled warmly; "I know how much you _love_ him. And Blaine loves you too."

Joe blushed wildly as he looked down at his bare feet, a bashful smile creeping on his face. Tina laughed at the sight. It was so adorable to see Joe so in love. He was always so naïve about love and relationships, but he now that he has Blaine, all that can change. Their chit-chat was interrupted, however, when an intruding someone cleared their throat. Rachel stood with a condescending smile on her face, not hiding the disdain she had for both individuals. Joe's eyes widened a little, fearing the girl may have heard their conversation. He and Blaine were supposed to be a secret from New Directions, and he can tell from look on Rachel's face that she had heard everything. Maybe she'll be too busy with the Tina-controversy that she'll forget all about it. But then again, it was Rachel.

"Tina," she greeted, though there was nothing warm about it. She threw Joe a disgusted look before commenting, "I thought I told you not to talk to any of the New Directions members."

"He can talk to me whenever he wants, Rachel," Tina snapped.

"I wasn't talking about _you_," Rachel shot back. "The jury is still out on your membership. I'm talking about _Blaine_."

Joe's eyes widened again, his heart beating very fast. "Uh, um—"

"Don't talk," the Jewish girl ordered, "Kurt and Blaine belong together. There's no place for you."

"Do you want me to slap you again?" Tina threatened.

"We're on school grounds, Tina," Rachel stated. "I could have you suspended for weeks for assault." She looked back at Joe again, who was nervously clutching the strap of his messenger bag. "Listen, Joseph, I fully support your newfound homosexuality, I have two gay dads after all, but you can't be with Blaine. So unless you want life here at McKinley to be very difficult for you, I suggest you back off."

"Don't threaten him," Tina snarled, "Who do you think you are? You don't have any power in this school!"

"I don't, but I can always get Finn to direct the football team's bullying away from the AV club towards little Joe over here. I'm sure Jacob Ben Israel will appreciate that. And I'll tell everyone that Joe Hart, the holier-than-thou Bible thumper, is actually gay and everyone will think he's a hypocrite."

"You're disgusting."

"I'm just looking out for my team."

"You're looking out for yourself."

"And what? I am glee. I've been nice about it all this time, but I guess I need to give you the simple English version and drill it into your head. Glee club is the Rachel Berry show, Tina. And next year, it'll be the Blaine Anderson show. And you'll still be in the background while talented people like me and Blaine and Kurt go off to New York to become successful Broadway legends."

"You're a horrible person," Joe uttered suddenly. "You should go to church, Rachel. It's not right what you're saying."

"I happen to go to the Temple every Sunday, thank you very much," Rachel stated, "My soul will be just fine. You, however, are a liar, a home wrecker and an all-time sinner. I think _you_ are the horrible person, Joseph. You should stop preaching about saving people because you can't even save yourself." Joe winced as Rachel's biting words cut into his soul as Tina looked flabbergasted at what she was hearing. She was wrong about the last time Rachel had spoken to Joe. The girl managed to reach an even lower all-time low, if that was even possible.

"You're a joke to your own religion. I'm sure even God hates you."

"Shut up," Tina hissed out through her teeth, "Leave now before I do something I _won't_ regret."

Rachel did not falter. Instead, she smirked at Tina. "Come to the next glee club meeting, Tina. A certain glee mate of ours tried to convince everyone to allow you back in."

"No way," Tina responded instantly. She knew that it was Sam who wanted her to come back, because he was really the only one who gave a shit. Mike was probably too mad about her and Jeff to care about her returning to New Directions.

"That's a shame, because Artie has already agreed to return," Rachel said smugly, smirking at Tina and Joe's shocked faces. "That's right. It took a little convincing, but as I'm sure you know he's easily persuaded." Rachel looked at Joe again, then back at Tina. "If I had my way, I'd let you stay with that watered-down version of New Directions, but Sam was insistent. He even risked his relationship with Mercedes to get me to invite you to come back. So I'm going to give you a choice. You can come back to us and have a legitimate shot at Nationals, or you can go back to the Freedom Riders and have no shot. You have to choose if you want to be a winner or a loser like him."

Joe flinched again at Rachel's words.

"You can't have everything, Tina," Rachel continued. "If you come back to New Directions, you'll never sing out front as punishment for what you did. And if you go back to your little glee club, you'll be disqualified for not having enough members. If I were you, I wouldn't take that chance; you'd just be setting yourself up for a painful loss."

Tina didn't make any kind of retort as Rachel turned her heel and walked away from the duo. She didn't know what to say at all. Artie was probably persuaded by Finn to come back. He always respected him as a leader, but Tina also figured it had more to do with fear. Tina looked up at Joe, who had a worried look on his face.

"Joe, don't listen to Rachel," Tina assured, "She's just a bitch. She won't do any of those things." However, Tina wasn't even able to convince herself with that one. With the truly wretched things Rachel had said to Joe, Tina wouldn't put it past that evil hobbit to make Joe's high school life miserable for staying with Blaine. Now she was convinced Rachel and Finn were professional terrorists.

"You don't think she'll tell people?" Joe muttered anxiously. "I'm not ready yet."

"She wouldn't do it," Tina declared. "Believe it or not, Kurt won't let her. He didn't do it for Karofsky and he won't do it for you. He knows more than anyone how scary coming out is for a gay teen. Regardless of how he feels about you, he'll respect your wishes of staying in the closet."

Joe nodded his head, unsure. However, what she said did made a lot of sense and he felt better knowing that his secret will be kept safe until he's ready to tell everyone. He just hoped that when he broke the news to his parents, that they will still love him.

Joe sighed to himself. _Being gay was so hard!_

He had so much respect for Blaine after realizing that the bowtie lover had went through all of this himself. He said his goodbyes to Tina and then left for lunch. Because of his ban from New Directions, he had to sit outside in the courtyard by himself with no one to talk to. Tina felt terrible for him, but since the scandal that Santana and Puck were now referring to as the "Tina-gate", she may be able to have more freedom in sitting with him, making sure that he knows that he is never alone.

**glee**

Tina did sit with Joe for lunch after all, along with Sugar, who was also banned from sitting with New Directions by Rachel Berry. She didn't want to have to deal with the "it's her" looks that she'd inevitably get if she had sat with New Directions. She had received a few text messages from Sam, asking her if she was okay after all the drama that had gone down, but she ignored them. She wasn't mad at him, but she felt it was best to take a break from everyone at glee club. She was disappointed that Artie did not join them, though she figured that he was probably still being held hostage at the lunch table.

When school was finally over, she decided to take Rachel's offer on attending glee club. Tina didn't know why she had gone, but it had a lot to do with Artie being there. Just as she had suspected, everyone looked at her intensely. Even Mike was glaring at her. The only ones who weren't shooting her evil looks were Blaine, Sam, and Artie, all of whom sent her sympathetic looks. Actually Brittany wasn't glaring at her either, but that was because she was too busy thinking about why the Pink and Yellow Power Rangers never got together. They were both hot girls, why didn't they ever hook up?

Anyway.

Tina sat at the very end next to Artie, not bothering to look at everyone. She felt a gentle hand squeeze her shoulder, and looked up to see Sam smiling at her. She put her hand on his and smiled back. Mike was fuming. What is it with Tina and blonde guys? Mercedes was also getting a little jealous, and pulled Sam back in to his seat. She looked at Artie, who was now keeping his head down, almost obediently as Rachel kept a watchful eye on the both of them. She hated this. It was like they were being treated like children who broke a vase and were being put in time-out.

What could she do though? Artie defected back to New Directions, therefore ending Freestyle Unity. She could always find someone else, but it was difficult enough getting twelve and it wouldn't be the same without Artie. It wasn't just her glee club, it was his too and he put a lot of effort into it. Again, she hated this.

Hated it. Hated it. Hated it.

Mr. Schuester walked in with his briefcase and things were suddenly falling back into its old routine. He was going off about some boring glee assignment that will no doubt highlight Rachel or Blaine's talent, and she'll be in the background again without anyone giving a care in the slightest. She almost wanted to cry. She had nowhere to go and without either glee club, she felt like she'll be lost without any hope. She was stuck. She looked over at Artie once more and caught him staring at her sadly and she knew it was over. The moment she was hoping for was gone.

"Everything's going to be alright..." Tina muttered suddenly.

The phrase just popped into her head. She said the same thing to Blaine when he was going through his issues with Kurt and again when she was forming Freestyle Unity. Everything _did_ turn out alright because Blaine is now happy with Joe and Freestyle Unity won Sectionals because they were good and they weren't losers, regardless of what Rachel or Coach Sylvester said.

"I'm sorry, Tina?" Mr. Schuester asked, a little confused by Tina's random utterance.

Tina got up from her spot on the chair and walked up next to Mr. Schue before looking back at New Directions. "I'm quitting," she stated simply, the words flowing easily out of her mouth. It was a long time coming, and she almost didn't do it, but after thinking it over, she decided to say "screw it." She's going to take that risk and no one can stop her.

Fuck Rachel Berry.

"Tina?!"

"What's wrong with you, girl?"

"I thought I had made things clear, Tina," Rachel started, but before she could speak, Tina cut her off.

"Shut up, Rachel," she said, shocking everybody. "You know, after everything that I've been through in the past month, I've come to realize that being in New Directions is not fun for me anymore. I was probably more respected in Freestyle Unity than I was here, and I don't want to surround myself with people I can't stand to be around without wanting to punch them in the face."

"What's Freestyle Unity?" Mr. Schuester asked, and Tina figured that none of the members had informed them of what went down Friday night. It was funny, because Rachel had spilled the beans to Coach Sylvester. "What are you talking about Tina? Why do you want to quit?"

"Mr. Schue," Tina started, still looking at her _former_ glee club teammates, particularly Rachel. "I have decided that my services in New Directions are no longer necessary," she continued, mimicking the words Rachel had cruelly said to Joe, which was not lost on the Jewish girl. "So I'm going to leave and I'm not coming back."

She looked over at Artie, who was looking at her with his mouth hung open. "Artie, I want you to come with me—"

"No!" Rachel hissed, "Don't go with her."

"Artie, it's not just my glee club," Tina said, "It's our glee club and Aphasia would want you be there with her."

This got the AV club president's attention as he perked up a bit at hearing his girlfriend's name.

"What's an 'aphasia'?" Rory asked.

"Something I wish Berry would suffer from," Santana remarked, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms and leaned back to hear Tina's rant.

After a few moments of silence, Artie wheeled his chair over to Tina.

"Artie, what are you doing, man?" Finn shouted.

"You can't seriously be considering leaving New Directions!" Rachel asked incredulously.

Artie looked up at his ex-girlfriend and co-captain. He nodded his head before looking back at the engaged couple.

"I'm quitting, too," he said, the words coming out as easily as they did with Tina.

He almost felt a sense of relief saying it. If he was going to fail, he was going to fail with the girl he loves, Aphasia, and the girl he loved, Tina. Before they left, Tina walked over to Brad, the silent pianist, and whispered something in his ear. He nodded his understandingly and whispered whatever information she told him to the band members before waiting for her direction. She walked back to the middle of the choir room and looked back once more at her glee club.

"Before, I go. I want to show you what you missed out on," she said. She nodded her head at the band members and they started playing.

The violin players strummed their instruments as Tina readied herself for the song she was going to sing.

_**(Tina)  
**__Someone once told me that you have to choose  
__What you win or lose  
__You can't have everything  
__Don't you take chances  
__Might feel the pain  
__Don't you love in vain  
__'Cause love won't set you free  
__I could stand by the side  
__And watch this life pass me by_

Her voice was beautiful, and they knew it. All of the members, including Mr. Schue, were staring at her, each lyric cutting into them as they felt how she had been feeling the entire time.

_**(Tina)  
**__So unhappy  
__But safe as could be_

Tina thought about everything that had happened in the last month. Blaine getting the solos she wanted, her first outburst at Rachel, her break-up with Mike, kissing Sam, starting the glee club… She remembered Joe and all the cruel things Rachel was doing to him. She remembered Artie and how much they were bullying him into staying in New Directions. She remembered Blaine and how much Kurt was abusing him. She remembered everything. She brought Freestyle Unity together and if they lose, they lose. It doesn't matter. So what? At least she'll be happy.

_**(Tina)  
**__So what if it hurts me?  
__So what if I break down?  
__So what if this world just throws me off the edge  
__My feet run out of ground  
__I gotta find my place  
__I wanna hear my sound  
__Don't care about all the pain in front of me  
__I'm just trying to be happy, yeah_

The band continued playing as Tina reached the bridge of the song. She looked over at Sam, who looked extremely sad but he knew that she would be happier if she left. He was a good friend to her, one of the few in New Directions that were. Blaine seemed to really get into Tina's song, even shedding a small tear for her.

_**(Tina)  
**__So many terms that I can't see  
__Like I'm a stranger on this road  
__But don't say victim  
__Don't say anything  
__So what if it hurts me?  
__So what if I break down?  
__So what if this world just throws me off the edge  
__My feet run out of ground  
__I gotta find my place  
__I wanna hear my sound  
__Don't care about all the pain in front of me  
__I just wanna be  
__Happy_

The song was over, much like her time in New Directions. Without saying much of anything, Tina and Artie left the choir room and New Directions, and they did not plan on coming back.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Well, it's official. Artie and Tina are now show choir refugees! Reviews are warmly welcomed, so tell me what you thought of the chapter. I need to ask, did I do Sue justice? She's actually a lot harder to write because her wit is difficult to portray without coming off as overly silly. By the way, that whole "Rachel is glee" thing was a jab at Ryan Murphy for saying that. He once said that in an interview and I wanted to poke fun. And in case you were wondering, "aphasia" is a speech disorder. I guess it was supposed to be ironic when the writers created the character.

**Songs Featured**:  
"Happy" by Leona Lewis. Sung by Tina.


	15. The Winner Takes It All

**Author's Comments**: Hey look, I'm alive! Sorry about the horribly long gap of complete nothingness, but that's the result of a deadly combination of college work, time confliction, writer's block, and overall laziness. About this chapter, I've been debating on what I've been wanting to do for it and I've finally come up with a solution. It's going to be a Face Off similar to the Warblers vs. New Directions Michael Face-Off. Unoriginal I know, but it'll advance the plot, so it's all good. Now onto my critique of this current season of Glee. Suffice it to say that this season started off terrible. Too much Blaine. Way too much. And the newbies too. I mean, since when are they the main characters? Hell, some of them have actually sang more than RACHEL! You know that's too much. But this most recent episode, Thanksgiving (4x08) was actually pretty good and had just the right amount of Blaine. Almost none. That's how I like it. LOL. I'm willing to give this season a chance as long as it keeps Blaine on a tight leash.

**Featured Pairings**: Tiff (Tina/Jeff), Brittana (Brittany/Santana), kissing!Santina (Santana/Tina), kissing!Britteff (Brittany/Jeff), Artasia (Artie/Aphasia), Pendletank (Pendleton/Hank)

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen  
****The Winner Takes It All, The Loser Standing Small, Beside The Victory, That's Her Destiny  
****("The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA)**

* * *

It had been over a week since Tina and Artie reneged on the glee club and life just seemed a lot easier. Well, at least for Tina. Quitting New Directions had lifted a gigantic weight off her shoulders, but Artie seemed to have been in a bit of a funk after it. However, after a few make-out sessions and some generous handies from Aphasia, Artie's spirits were lifted and he was ready to put all his efforts into Freestyle Unity.

Oh, how the power of boobs can bring a man weak to his knees. Or in Artie's case, his wheels.

However, Artie and Tina were not the only ones who were banished from their old glee clubs. Since their departure, Rachel had made it a point to notify Jesse St. James (yeah, she _still_ had his number) about Giselle's deception and then had Finn physically strong-arm Blaine (much to Kurt's delight) into telling Sebastian about Jeff's betrayal. And then eventually, word got out to The Unitards and the Bootylicious Angels about Pendleton and Aphasia, leaving the glee club kids out on their own as show choir vigilantes.

So Freestyle Unity was all they had now, and given the treatment they were getting, it seemed they were just fine with that. At their next glee club meeting, the team gathered around to discuss a possible setlist for Regionals with various suggestions. Pendleton once again suggested a Broadway number featuring pink frillie dresses for the girls and baby blue zoot suits for the guys ("Who told her she could speak?" snarled Giselle to Hank). Azimio, Aphasia, and Artie all agreed that they need more hip-hop with The Mack saying she'd go for either that or punk rock.

"I say we do some Nicki Minaj and blow da doors of dis bitch," The Mack declared. "We'll take those fools off and slam 'em downtown on da ground."

"I have absolutely no idea what she just said," Tina heard Giselle whisper to her.

"I second dat," Aphasia agreed with her rival, "Nicki's my girl."

"Just like you're my girl," Artie said in a dreamy voice as he and Aphasia locked lips in a sloppy kiss. Tongues and all.

The smacking noises they were making caused many of the members to almost puke as they endured the site of "Artasia" (as they had been dubbed) devour each other's faces off.

"Okay, we're done with that," Tina reprimanded them, causing the interracial couple to pull apart, faces flushed with a mixture of lust and embarrassment. "For the sake of my lunch, please do that in private."

The arguing in the choir room kept on for over an hour until they were all hushed up by Roz Washington, the fearsome coach using her whistle to silence them and effectively make them deaf. "Alright, troops. It seems you all are atta lil disagreement on what to do for Regionals, so I'mma tell you what we gon' do. Some of you want ballads, some of you want R&B, some of you want hip-hop, and some of you want contemporary." The glee club was all listening in intently, intrigued by what the swim coach was implying, wondering what she had in mind. "So, I know exactly what who we're gonna do for Regionals."

"Who?"

"Alicia Keys."

"Alicia Keys? Man, she's lame as hell," Azimio complained.

"Bite yo' tongue, you black elephant," Coach Washington sneered. "Alicia Keys had to deal with a whole lotta crap from the music business to get where she at. She was a young girl just like yourselves who started off as an underdog and now she's a top dog. She embodies everything an artist wants to be. Her soulful voice won her self over fifty Grammys—"

"She won fifteen," Hank muttered to Jeff, who just shrugged as he continued to hear the coach's speech.

"—And not only dat, she won over thousand other awards. And that just shows that if a small-town girl like her can make it, so can you."

"But she grew up in New York," Pendleton added with a confused look on her face, which quickly turned to fear when Roz glared at her, causing her to cower in fear behind Hank.

"My point is, she was an underdog just like all of you. That's what da music business is all about: Underdogs. You can be da best-sounding musical group down the street but dat don't mean nothin' without action. Without tryin' hard. And that's what we're gonna do."

Feeling her spirits lifted, Tina immediately interjected. "She's right, you guys. Alicia Keys would be a great artist to do for Regionals."

"Exactly, Sun Jin Din, so let's get to work on a setlist."

With great gusto, Freestyle Unity banded together once again to create a setlist that even the New Directions could envy.

**glee**

Leaving New Directions did not, surprisingly, affect Tina's social life with its members. Rachel, Kurt, and Finn made it a point to neither speak nor acknowledge Tina, Artie, Sugar or Joe in the hallways of McKinley and encouraged the rest of the New Directions to do the same. However, since many of the New Directions did not harbor any ill-feelings towards their mutinous members (except maybe Mike), they chose to talk to their friends whenever they pleased, against their self-proclaimed leaders' wishes.

Sam was the one Tina talked to the most, much to Jeff's chargin but the blonde Warbler made it a point to not get jealous as he trusted his girlfriend, something Tina was relieved as she did not want to relive her experience with Mike with Jeff. Mercedes also kept in touch with Tina. She had felt silly for getting so worked up about Tina's non-existant affair with Sam, though she did not know about the make-out session at Finn's house; some things were just better left unsaid. Mike was the one Tina had the most problems with. He kept calling and texting her, begging her to take him back, but once he knew she wouldn't budge, he decided to text and call Jeff in hopes of ruining her new relationship, but thankfully Jeff had stayed strong.

As for the remaining members: Quinn, Puck, Rory, Santana, and Brittany... Well, she never really spoke them all that much anyway. So things were still normal. She just didn't have to hear Rachel or Kurt harp at her 24/7, which was more of a blessing than a curse. However since she never really spoke to them, Tina was surprised to be sitting at the Lima Bean with Jeff after being invited by Santana and Brittany for a double date. The lesbian (and bisexual) cheerleaders eyed the couple with critical eyes before Santana finally spoke.

"Well, I've gotta hand it to you, O-Ren Ishii," she smirked, "You've certainly surprised even me."

"Thanks, I guess."

"I'm serious. I mean, I knew I was a badass bitch and Mercedes was built like a black Muhammad Ali, but _you_ of all people standing up against Berry? Nice one."

"Uh, but Muhammad Ali is black—" Jeff stumbled before shutting himself up when Santana glared at him. That bitch was scary.

"Why is that so surprising?" Tina asked, ignoring the exchange between Santana and her boyfriend.

"It's just that you always seemed to be a crybaby who'll let anyone walk all over you," the Latina shrugged. "And I always figured that you were Rachel's lapdog."

"I am _not_, nor have I _ever_ been, Rachel's lapdog." Tina bit out, surprising the feisty Cheerio with feistiness of her own.

With a smirk, Santana leaned forward. "You know, this new sassy Tina is kind of a turn on," she said with Brittany nodding her head excitedly.

"If I was wearing panties, they'd be wet by now," Brittany added with a dazed smile, Jeff's eyes widening in shock as Tina's face scrunched in disgust.

Smirking again, Santana added, "And if I wasn't so committed to Britts, I'd probably get all up under this table right now and go to town on your chop suey goodness."

Her smirk became wider when Tina blushed and Jeff's eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

"SANTANA!" Tina hissed, visibly offended. "My boyfriend is here."

"He'd probably like it," the Latina Cheerio casted seductive eyes over at Jeff, "Wouldn't you, Jeffy? I bet you wanna watch like the little perv you are, right?"

Jeff was tongue tied. When he tried to speak, he merely stuttered, sounding suspiciously like his girlfriend back when she faked a stutter. Tina nudged him in the ribs, causing him to snap out of his perverted thoughts, before straightening himself up.

"Enough already, Santana, why did you ask us to come here?"

"I just came to inform you that Berry and Lady Hummel are planning to challenge you to a face-off."

"A face-off?" Jeff asked, perplexed.

"Who told you to speak, Aaron Carter?"

"Uh, no one."

"Exactly! Now hush," Santana turned back to her Asian friend and continued, "Rachel and Kurt want to prove that New Directions is a better glee club than the Freedom Writers—"

"It's Freestyle Unity," Tina interrupted.

"Ugh, whatever, Trisha Takanawa, the point is they were planning on challenging you on Saturday morning with the actual challenge Saturday night."

"So that would mean Freestyle Unity would be unprepared..." Jeff said to himself, earning another vicious glare from Santana.

"You need to teach him to only speak when spoken to," Santana mumbled to Tina, "A few whippings and he'll learn to be a good submissive, inferior man."

Jeff's eyes widened again at the though, and then suddenly images of Tina in a dominatrix suit and whip clouded his mind, causing him to let out a goofy laugh which earned him another elbow to the ribs from Tina.

"But that's not all," Santana continued ominously, "They're gonna challenge you for your setlist."

"Our setlist?" Tina furrowed her eyebrows. "What do they know about our setlist?"

"Word on the street is that Manchester United—"

"Freestyle Unity." Tina snarled through her teeth, annoyed that Santana's not even making an effort to call her glee club by its real name.

"—is planning to do Alicia Keys for their Regionals."

"How did they know we were gonna do Alicia Keys?"

"Britts and I took Sugar to get our hairs done and she spilled the beans. I love her to death, she's like our love child from the future. Anyway, we told Hummelberry the news and they acted like they had their panties up their cracks."

"That's hot," Brittany uttered.

"Why did you tell Rachel and Kurt? I thought you were on our side?"

Santana let out an almost maniacal laugh, "Oh, please, Maggie Q, Britts and I are on _our_ side. We're on the side that sits back and laughs as shit goes down. And we wanna see a Tina vs. Rachel smackdown 2.0."

"I even made team shirts," Brittany said excitedly as she pulled out a medium-sized pink t-shirt from her backpack and displayed it in front of the other couple.

It was a simple plain, pink t-shirt with a blue hastag stamped on the front that read TEAM... _NINA_?!

"Team Nina?!" Tina cried. She just can't win. "Brittany! My name is _Tina_."

"I know, I should've never let Lord Tubbington do the sewing," Brittany pouted as she put the shirt back in her bag. "I think he was still a little high from that crack he smoked earlier."

"Who's Lord Tubbington?" Jeff whispered to Tina.

"Her cat." Tina replied, shaking her head at Brittany's stories. She always doubted Brittany's honesty seeing as how more than half the things the blonde Cheerio says about her fat feline was impossible for any normal house cat to do. Tina eyed Santana suspiciously. She knew all too well that the Latina Cheerio was a coniving demon, so she had to question her motives. "What's in it for you, Santana?"

"Lots of things," the Hispanic beauty admitted, "If Rachel wins, we'll win Regionals and then smoke Nationals and I'll be a National champ which will look good on my college résumé and then I'll be out of this shit stain of a town and moving on to bigger and better things. And if not, then I'll enjoy the site of seeing Rachel Berry on her knees, sobbing into the arms of her puffy-boobed fiancé after being humiliated by the likes of one her supposed lackies. It's win-win for me."

Tina nodded her head in understanding. That sounded like something Santana would want. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, here's how the face-off will work: We're gonna sing a mash-up of Cher Lloyd's annoying ass _Swagger Jagger_ and Maroon 5's _Moves Like Jagger_." Tina scrunched her face. While the song titles were similar, the music was so different. "Rachel was planning to give you the sheet music that same morning so you'd only have a few hours to work on your routine, while New Directions have been working on it since Monday."

"That's sneaky."

"Hush up, N*SYNC, and let me finish. Anyway, Rachel is going to call you up Saturday morning to bet your setlist."

"Why would I want to risk our setlist anyway?"

"Because New Directions are gonna do Alicia Keys for their Regionals."

"Excuse me?! Why would they allow her to do that?"

"Hey, Berry's got the entire club brainwashed. She and Finn can be very persuasive."

"That's bullshit! Alicia Keys belongs to us!"

"You won't convince Berry of that," Santana smirked again as she packed up her things. "Well, I've told you all I know. So take the time to prepare, you've only got four days. Make sure you perform an awesome dance number because Mike and Brittany choreographed some amazing shit."

"Thanks Santana," Tina muttered half-heatedly as her mind wandered to Saturday and the impending face-off that they were gonna have to participate in.

"You're welcome, Mulan," Santana said simply before abruptly grabbing Tina by her chin and planting a nice, wet kiss on her lips.

The shock of feeling Santana's mouth on hers stunned Tina, and she didn't do anything until she felt the Latina's tongue move around in her mouth as the rough kiss was put to an end, but not before Santana greedily groped Tina's left breast as a goodbye gesture. Jeff's eyes were bug-eyed as he watched his girlfriend and her _female_ friend make-out right in front of him, shaming himself for being a little turned on by this. He was quickly pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Brittany grab his chin and place a small chase kiss on his. Her lips tasted like rootbeer.

"Bye, Jeff Warbler. Bye, Nina," the blonde said sweetly as she linked her pinkies together with Santana's and exiting the Lima Bean side-by-side.

"It's Tina..." Tina said half-heartedly, barely managing the words to come out of her mouth as she sat still in shock. Silence filled the room. Not even the chattering of patrons or the clanging sounds from behind the barista counters could kill the stoicism that surrounded the couple.

Gulping, Jeff squeaked out, "I like your friends..."

**glee**

The night air felt like ice on her face as Tina walked into the open basketball court that was in the middle of the Lima Park. It was 9PM, the same time that Rachel told Tina to be in. Earlier that morning, Rachel had called Tina up exactly like Santana had told her and threatened her with her Alicia Keys setlist. Luckily for Tina, she had told Freestyle Unity about this four days prior thanks to the mutiny Santana and Brittany had done. Needless to say, the members of Freestyle Unity were not pleased at all.

The first thing to come out of Aphasia's mouth was screeching "OH HELL TO THE NO," sounding almost exactly like one Mercedes Jones, Tina thought. Giselle and The Mack looked ready to kill, with The Mack suggesting that she could "off dat Berry bitch" and come up several ways of disposing of her body. The guys were not as dramatic, but were still angered by this news. Joe suggested they should just change up the setlist to another artist, but that idea was shot down by many of the members, who felt that since they worked hard on the setlist together that they should be able to sing Alicia Keys.

This is the exact same problem New Directions had with Michael Jackson and The Warblers, and Tina would be damned if she had to deal with the same problems as Rachel Berry. She maybe be The New Rachel of her glee club, she was far from being the same person. No way in hell will that ever happen if Tina had anything to do with that. And plus, her team needed her. Rachel only cared about herself whereas Tina is doing this for her team.

So here she was on a chilly Saturday night about the face off against her former glee club as she waited patiently for them to arrive. Several members of the group scattered throughout the park in preperation, scanning the area for any sign of the theiving group. Suddenly, Tina's phone buzzed in her pocket.

**From:** Sam Evans (Jan 15 9:33PM)  
_Hay._

Tina was surprised to see Sam's name come up. She frowned a little bit at the text. She didn't hold any negative feelings towards her blonde friend, but she was a little disappointed that he'd go along with this game Rachel's trying to play. Shaking her head, she replied to him.

**To:** Sam Evans (Jan 15 9:35PM)  
_What's up? Are you guys here yet?_

**From:** Sam Evans (Jan 15 9:36PM)  
_Yeah, were all gathereeng in the parken lot. Im sorrie it come to this._

**To:** Sam Evans (Jan 15 9:37PM)  
_You could've said something_

**From:** Sam Evans (Jan 15 9:39PM)  
_I now. Im sorrie. I feel terrable abowt all this. That Im aktualy a part of this. I reale care abowt you Tina. Alot. And ur always gona hold a speshal place in my hart._

**To:** Sam Evans (Jan 15 9:40PM)  
_I know and I care about you too._

**To:** Sam Evans (Jan 15 9:40PM)  
_As a friend, I mean._

**From:** Santana Lopez (Jan 15 9:43PM)  
_Oh jeez. Quit flirting with each other Ching Chang. I'm barfing just reading these poorly written messages over Trouty Mouth's shoulder. BLECH!_

Tina rolled her eyes at Santana's rude interruption of their conversation. It figures she'd be reading the messages. She put her phone back in her pocket and decided to wait for the New Directions as they walked down the stone path toward the basketball court, dressed all in black and looking like a chain gang. It would almost be intimidating to see the them alone in the park on a Saturday night if Tina didn't already know who they were. Come to think of it, it was actually kind of sad that their most intimidating member was a 5-foot-5 cheerleader with fake breasts.

"Well, well, well Tina," Rachel smirked, "I'm happy you showed up."

"So am I, Rachel."

"You know the stakes, I've already told you this morning," Rachel explained. "Winner takes it all. The Alicia Keys setlist."

"You know we're not even competing against each other at Regionals," Tina interjected. "We could just leave now and still do Alicia."

"Is that you backing down?"

That did it. Angry fire boiled up inside Tina. No way in hell will Rachel ever intimidate her. "No way," she said. "Unlike _some people_, I'm not afraid of you, Rachel."

"Then let's see who's the better glee club, shall we?"

The headlights started flashing around them, creating the illusion of strobe lights. A quick glance informed Tina that the band members were also present and working the lights, causing the entire park to look like one giant rave. A whistling sound was heard followed by blaring dance pop music. The band members had brought a stereo and proceeded to start the song. The New Directions had scattered all across the park, finding a member of Freestyle Unity to battle with. It was twelve-on-twelve. Everybody had a dance partner, including Tina who fittingly got Rachel as her partner.

Here they go. Time to show New Directions that Freestyle Unity was not to be messed with. Santana's soulful voice could be heard over by the water fountain, facing off against The Mack. Both were doing this cool dance move where they slide against the rim of the fountain.

_**(Santana)  
**__Get on the floor  
__Get, get, get on the floor  
__Get, get, get on the floor  
__Get, get, get on the floor  
__My swagger's in check_

_**(Finn)  
**__Just shoot for the stars, if it feels right  
__And aim for my heart_

Another fitting pair-up was Finn and Jeff who looked each other dead in the eye as the circled around each other like two lions ready to fight each other to the death.

_**(Jeff)  
**__If you feel like  
__And take me away and make it okay  
__I swear I'll behave_

_**(Artie)  
**__You wanted control, so we waited  
__I put on a show, now I make it_

_**(Blaine)  
**__You say I'm a kid, my ego is big  
__I don't give a_

_**(Pendleton and Kurt)  
**__Shh!_

_**(Joe and Rory)  
**__I got it in check_

_**(Rachel)  
**__Swagger Jagger, swagger Jagger  
_(_**Puck**__: Moves like Jagger_)  
_You should get some of your own  
_(_**Hank**__: I've got the moves like Jagger_)

_**(Tina)  
**__Count that money, get your game on  
__You're a hater, just let it go_

_**(Aphasia)  
**__Swagger Jagger, swagger Jagger  
_(_**Azimio**__: Moves like Jagger_)  
_You should get some of your own  
_(_**Sam**__: I've got the moves like Jagger_)

_**(Brittany)  
**__Count that money, get your game on  
__Get your game on  
__Get your game on_

Tina's brow was sweating profusely as the dance number got more intense. Nobody was letting up. In fact, many of the members of New Directions and Freestyle Unity looked like they could do this for hours, which Tina was proud of. Rachel looked shell-shocked at how good Tina's glee club was. It's almost like they had prepared for this all week. In the corner of her eye, she could see Santana wink at her knowingly. Either that was because she saw the surprised look on Rachel's face or because she was thinking lewd things about the Asian beauty.

Or it could be both. Either way, Tina didn't care. It was all about Freestyle Unity versus New Directions.

_**(Giselle and Mercedes)  
**__And it goes like this_

_**(Freestyle Unity)  
**__Take me by the tongue and I'll know you  
__Kiss me 'til you're drunk and I'll show you  
__All the moves like Jagger  
__I've got the moves like Jagger  
__I've got the moves like Jagger_

_**(New Directions)  
**__I don't need to try to control you  
__Look into my eyes and I'll own you  
__With them moves like Jagger  
__I've got the moves like Jagger  
__I've got the moves like Jagger_

_**(The Mack)  
**__Get on the floor  
__Get, get, get on the floor  
__Get, get, get on the floor  
__Get, get, get on the floor  
__My swagger's in check_

A pain-ridden scream filled the air and before Tina knew the lights went out. And just like that, the New Directions scrambled out of the park, leaving Freestyle Unity dumbfounded. What had happened? Who was crying in pain?

"Tina! It's Matt!" Pendleton cried, as if reading Tina's mind.

Tina bolted her head towards Matt's direction by the park benches, where he was currently in the fetal position, cradling his knee as he continued to howl in pain.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: Yes, I totally stole Glee's idea from Michael (3x11) where Blaine gets hurt after the Warblers and ND face off. But to be fair, that didn't happen in this story, so I'm afraid someone had to get hurt during a face-off challenge. And unfortunately, it had to be poor Matt. Poor guy. But that means a story arc for him in the next chapter! Yay! The mash-up was of my own creation. I hope you liked it. It was a little kooky. Please leave a review. It shows me that you still hung on after such a long hiatus. Reviews equal love people! And I love you guys!

**Songs Featured**:  
"Swagger Jagger" / "Moves Like Jagger" by Cher Lloyd / Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera. Sung by Freestyle Unity and New Directions.


	16. Try

**Author's Comments**: Hey! Another update! And it only took a week! Oh, well, at least it's here LOL! It's a little short, but there was a lot of stuff to put in that I wanted to save for later chapters. So I hope it's good and up to your standards. I'm glad most of you are enjoying how the story is going. I thought this episode was a little important because you need to get to know more about the other characters, not just our beloved Tina. This was a good chapter for them, they deserve some love.

**Featured Pairings**: Tiff (Tina/Jeff), Pendletank (Pendleton/Hank), Artasia (Artie/Aphasia), flirtatious!Mackford (The Mack/Matt), Anderhart (Blaine/Joe), unrequited!Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), ended!Samcedes (Sam/Mercedes)

**Warnings**: Mild language and some suggestive content.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen  
****Where There Is A Flame, Someone's Bound to Get Burned, But Just Because It Burns Doesn't Mean You're Gonna Die, You Gotta Get Up and Try  
****("Try" by P!nk)**

* * *

The small waiting room at the Lima General Hospital was filled with only Freestyle Unity members who were all wrapped snug in overcoats and scarves as they waited for Matt's doctor to come in to give them the rundown of his condition. Tina sat with her face buried in her hands, a devastated look on her face that was hidden behind her delicate fingers, as Jeff rubbed soothing circles on her back.

_It's all my fault_, she thought glumly. _Matt would've never gotten hurt if I hadn't asked him to join Freestyle Unity_.

All of this happened because Tina couldn't stay in the background where she belonged. Tina was so caught up in her own dreams and her own goals, she failed to see the repercussions it had on the other members. They were kicked out and shunned by their respective cliques and clubs. They were doing all of this for her and yet she had nothing to show for them in return. Why did she have to do all this? Why did she have to prove a point that she was better than Rachel Berry? Why did she even try?

"Hey, stop beating yourself up," Jeff whispered to her, as if he'd read her mind. It seems everyone keeps doing that lately.

"Well, sometimes you say your thoughts aloud," the blonde Dalton kid added.

"I do?" Tina raised an eyebrow. "Crap."

"Yeah, it's kinda cute though." He smiled warmly at her, causing her to smile. "And a little weird."

Tina frowned before smacking her boyfriend playfully on the arm. She sat back in her seat and let herself get lost in her thoughts. Was all of this worth it? Was Matt's well-being even worth it?

"Of course it's worth it."

"Oh, damn it. I did it again."

Jeff chuckled, bemused. "Look, I know things may seem rough now, but trust me. Everything that's happened so far was worth it. We worked hard to get where we're at. Why stop now?"

Tina smiled, but her head was still nagging that Matt was in the hospital because of her. "But Matt..."

"Yeah, what happened to Matt sucked but you can't say all the stuff we've accomplished wasn't worth it," Jeff interrupted, "Given our special situation, some bad stuff was bound to come our way but that doesn't mean we should give up."

"This is sweet and all, blonde Romeo and Asian Juliet," came the bitchy voice of Giselle, "But how the hell are we supposed to recover from this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what happened to Matt sucked ass and all, but we're now down a member."

"Aren't you even concerned for Matt's health?" Jeff reprimanded defiantly.

Giselle put her hands on her hips, not backing down. "Oh, please. He's not dying of cancer." Jeff rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in defeat, knowing it was pointless to argue. "He's just got a busted knee. It'll heal. However, _I_ sacrificed a lot to get here and _I'm_ not about to forfeit all of that because Miss Saigon over here is feeling guilty."

"Oh, shut up, Giselle!" Pendleton piped in, though there was some shakiness in her voice. Truth be told, Giselle scared the shit out of her.

A small argument then ensued between Jeff, Giselle, and Pendleton, which was soon joined in by Hank, who wanted to defend his girlfriend and was admittedly tired of Giselle's complaining. And then for some reason, Aphasia and The Mack were going at it, again. This caused Artie to argue with Azimio, who took The Mack's side and Tina didn't even know why they were fight at all. And Joe was just sitting there watching it all go down, innocent as ever while Sugar was playing Angry Birds.

While this went on Tina thought to herself about their current situation. While Giselle was self-centered and whiny, she did have a point. If Matt's down for the count, that would mean they'd be down one member. Their Regionals were in March, a little over two weeks after New Directions' Regionals in Feburary, what can they do? How could she be so stupid as to think that she can accomplish this?

Eventually, the noise in the waiting room got too loud and a nurse came in to hush them up, leaving the room in an uncomfortable silence, the air thick with tension and frustration.

"I'm so stupid," Tina admitted dejectedly, earning a few odd looks from her teammates, "I did all this for myself, because I was tired of being pushed aside. And then I dragged you all into it. I practically manipulated you guys into doing this... and—" she started to break down, tears welling up. Damn it, she hated to prove Santana right by crying but she just couldn't help it. "I-I'm really sorry, you guys."

Again, silence. No one was saying a word, just lost in their thoughts. So Tina continued, "You guys don't even know me that well, and yet here I am trying to get us to work together. And for what? Because our egos were bruised? Because _my_ ego was bruised? What the hell was I even thinking?" Tina scrubbed a hand through her face and sighed. "And it's not like I ever made any effort to know you guys either."

No one spoke for a few moments until Tina heard Joe's timid voice come up. "I just recently found I like dudes," he said with a lopsided grin. "I don't even think I know who I am."

Despite her bad mood, Tina managed out a chuckle. Joe was a sweet guy. In the few weeks she's known him, he was probably the one of best people she'd ever met. Probably, and likely better than anyone still at New Directions. Maybe, even Sam. And Tina hated that so many people were cruel to the dreadlock-headed teen. Namely Rachel and Kurt, along with several of the people at her school. She'd seen the hockey make fun of him several times for "looking homeless" and laugh behind his back whenever he'd invite them over to The God Squad. The thought made Tina want to pity him, but looking at how positive Joe was made her think that he may not even need her pity. Maybe she was the one who needed pity.

"I'm a virgin," The Mack blurted out suddenly, causing everyone to whip their heads over in her direction.

Wait, what the hell? Tina snapped out of her thoughts to join her team in staring blankly at The Mack.

"I'm for real," the Skank stated at the disbelieving looks she got, "I only act slutty 'cause guys seem to like it. I only ever went as far as first base... Well, maybe a little below da belt stuff, but never _actual_ sex."

Tina's jaw dropped at this sudden revelation. She didn't know if she should be intrigued or appalled. Maybe she was both.

"And by the way," The Mack continued, "My real name is Casey. Casey Santucci. Born in Staten Island before moving here to Ohio."

"I'm adopted," came Hank's voice. "I found out when I was eight and just this summer I went to visit my dad in rehab. He's a drug addict."

"I'm sorry," Tina said genuinely.

Hank shook his head and shrugged. "It's all good. I'm not gonna let it define me. I promised myself after seeing him, that I'll never end up being like him." Pendleton squeezed her boyfriend's arm comfortingly before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

All these random confessions seem to get to the other members as they managed to learn more and more about themselves. Aphasia stood up from her boyfriend's lap and said, "I'm not poor." Giselle scoffed in disbelief. "For reals, I actually live in an upper-middle gated community with my dad, who's a doctor and my mom, who's a business executive. Hell yeah, I just pretend to be from da ghetto so the bitches at Jane Addams don't hump up on me, 'cause you know they go for those rich hoes first."

"So, what did you do to get there?"

"Shoplifting."

"Pulled a Winona, eh?" Giselle smirked.

"No, bitch, didn't you hear me? I didn't get down in no lesbehonest experience with another woman."

Rolling her eyes, Giselle decided it was her turn. She sighed as she prepped herself for this one. "Well, since we're all having share-time by the fire place, I have a confession too." Everyone leaned in eagerly, wondering what the spoiled rich girl's dirty little secret was.

"I'm... I'm not actually rich." All eyes in the room grew two-times their normal sizes. "My dad's a construction worker and my mom's a stay-at-home housewife. I get all my designer clothes from eBay and thrift stores."

Despite the tears that were still in her eyes, Tina couldn't help but let out breathy laugh. "Seriously?"

Giselle nodded. "I guess I just act like a heartless elitist because I get more respect that way."

"Well, me and you got a backwards way of thinkin'," Aphasia said smugly which garnered a rare, good-natured laugh from the spoiled, _not_-rich girl.

Sucking in a deep breath, Azimio rose up from his spot between Artie and Jeff and looked around the room like he was ready to tell his big confession.

"My favorite singer is Shania Twain."

Silence again. And then a large fit of laughter erupted around the room.

"What? It's good music," Azimio defended before laughing along with everyone.

Tina watched her glee club laugh together as they poked fun at Azimio for a little while before finding other things to laugh about. Her tears finally fell, but they weren't out of sorrow anymore. They were out of pride. Pride for her glee club. She felt like a proud mother watching her children get along for the first time.

Maybe Jeff was right. Maybe all of this was worth it.

"Oh, I'm right. And yes, it's worth it," Jeff winked.

Damn it. "Argh! I need to stop saying my thoughts out loud," Tina muttered.

"I have a confession to make, too," Sugar said suddenly, ceasing the laughter as all eyes fell on the girl, "I don't actually have Asperger's."

Everyone stared at her with confused looks, some even giggling at this so-called confession.

"We know," they told her in unison, before bursting out laughing again and despite sporting an offended look, Sugar joined in as well.

The nurse walked in, rolling a wheelchair containing a smiling Matt as the Freestyle Unity members' laughter died down. They excitedly rushed to his aide to see if he was okay, which he brushed off with a big smile.

"It's only a busted-up knee, it'll be fine in a few weeks," he said, "But unfortunately, I'm out for Regionals."

Tina chewed her bottom lip as everybody surrounded Matt, giving him their condolences, which Matt took humbly. Giselle did predict it, but now that it was a reality, this had Tina worried. With Matt gone, they were down a member and this would mean another day of scouting for a new recruit. As if reading her mind (again), Jeff took Tina's small hand in his own and squeezed it comfortingly.

They had cut it close looking for the first twelve members and barely got all of them in time. Now she had to go looking for a thirteenth?

Oh, well. Maybe this will be her lucky number.

**glee**

The Mack had offered to drive Matt home. His parents were out of town on business, so he basically had the house to himself. He had called them ahead of time and explained the situation, assuring them that they need not be worried. By the time the group had left the Lima General Hospital, it was already close to one in the morning.

The drive was pretty silent for the both of them, which was unusual for the usually chatty Skank. The two had arrived at Matt's house up in northern Lima where she helped him out of the car by hoisting him with his crutches.

"So," Matt said awkwardly as the two stumbled towards Matt's house. "Hank told me you were, uh, well..."

"A virgin?"

"Well, yeah."

The Mack chuckled, amused, before smirking back at the tall teen. "Why you ask? You wanna be da one who takes it first?"

Matt quickly reddened at this, before shaking his head wildly. "Uh, no, er, um, it's just that I—I was just curious." The pair had finally reached Matt's front door before The Mack fished his house keys out of his jacket pocket and unlocked the door.

"I have a girlfriend," he affirmed. "I just wanted to know why you tell people that. Being a virgin isn't something to be ashamed of."

"You a virgin?"

"No, but if I was, I wouldn't lie about it."

"Who asked you?" the dark-haired girl snapped, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes, already bored of this conversation. "Boys like it when girls act a little slutty."

"Not all guys."

"I guess you one of those fools," The Mack mumbled bitterly before turning away towards the car.

With a shy smile on his face, Matt opened the door and stumbled in without The Mack's assistance.

"And by the way," Matt called out to her, "I like the name Casey a lot more than The Mack."

A prickling feeling came up The Mack's spine like cold ice dumped into her shirt. She didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but something about the words really got to her. She could feel his eyes boring into her, but he wasn't judging her. He seemed to be staring at her curiously, as if he was trying to figure her out.

Brushing the feeling off, she decided to keep her mask up. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Shaft. I'll see you laters, maybe."

**glee**

The Lima Bean wasn't exactly a safe place to go for a coffee date, considering that several members of New Directions and The Warblers are frequent visitors, so to say that Blaine was a little on edge was an understatement. He and Joe had taken Blaine's car to the coffee shop for a little date and to discuss a certain nightly face-off.

Joe, who is normally a happy-go-lucky and peace-and-love kind of guy, was a little disappointed in his boyfriend for having a hand in Matt's injury, even if he didn't directly do it himself. Blaine still bailed with the New Directions after the normally quiet teen had been attacked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Blaine said sadly. "All I heard was that Matt guy scream and then I'm being grabbed in the arm by Finn and pulled away."

Joe was quiet, but nodded his head in understanding, seemingly accepting the answer. The Teen Jesus simply fidgeted with his coffee cover, a glum look on his face, before feeling his other hand englufed by a familiar warmth.

"Please forgive me?"

Joe smiled at him, and nodded his head. "Yeah, of course," he said sweetly, his signature loving smile on his face. "So, did anyone even tell you what happened?"

"I heard Finn mentioned to Kurt that Mike purposely tripped him and then busted up his knee. Apparently that was the plan from the beginning."

Joe bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. "He has to be in a cast for a few weeks. They're lucky that it wasn't too serious."

"I know, I'm sorry," Blaine said guiltly. "And now you guys don't have enough members."

"Yeah, but I'm really more concerned about Matt's health, though."

Blaine felt his insides flutter wildly. Joe was so selfless that it made his heart swell with love. Here before him, was probably the most pure-hearted person around and yet people treat him like he was some kind of joke. He saw the way people bullied him at school. They mocked him because he was very religious and he'd invite them over for bible study with God Squad, or they'd slushie him for the simple fact that he was associated with the glee club.

Even if he wasn't a part of New Directions anymore, the stench of glee club was still apparent all over him. Even Sue Sylvester took great pleasure in bullying Joe, but then again she took pleasure in bullying everyone.

"Blaine?" came a shocked voice.

A familiar cold feeling hit Blaine like a tidal wave. A chill ran up his spine and made all of his non-gelled hair stand on end.

"What are _you_ doing here?" the one and only Kurt Hummel asked Joe when he saw that the dreadlock-sporting teen was with the boy who _belonged to him_. "I thought Rachel told you to stay away from Blaine and everyone from New Directions."

"We're not together anymore, Kurt," Blaine declared, "And you can't tell Joe what to do."

Kurt sneered and raised a fist as if he was ready to knock Blaine out, and Blaine flinched away from him instinctively, which caused Joe to stand up and hover over his boyfriend protectively. However, Kurt stopped himself from ever laying a hand on his ex-boyfriend, and instead he lowered his fists and clenched them so tight that his fingernails were digging into his skin.

His angered expression scared Blaine, but he could tell that the boy wasn't going to hit him so openly in public. Without another word, Kurt stormed out of the Lima Bean, leaving the two lovebirds to themselves in peace.

**glee**

The next day at school, Tina was putting away a few books in her locker when she was approached by someone she did not expect.

"Sam?" she said curiously, before steeling her expression. "What do you want?"

Sam frowned at the curt greeting, but shrugged it off. Tina looked at him impatiently, wondering what the boy wanted and at the same time, not giving a damn. As much as she cared for her friend, the fact that he even still associated himself with the likes of Rachel Berry, her double-stuffed fiancé, and the devil-incarnate Kurt Hummel, she didn't exactly think very highly of him anymore, which disappointed her greatly. She always thought that Sam was the kindest and most level-headed person in New Directions, never afraid to hesitate to help out a friend or make the right decision. His actions as of late have left a sour taste in Tina's mouth and that really—

"I quit New Directions."

Huh?

"What?!"

"After what happened to Matt, I decided to ditch New Directions."

Tina stood there, speechless. She looked around for Jacob Ben Israel or Rachel, in case she was being Punk'd or something. Seeing as she wasn't being fooled, she looked back at her blonde, big-lipped friend and smiled. "Well, I'm glad you made the right decision then."

"Took me long enough, eh?" Sam smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in a way that was just too damn adorable.

"What about Mercedes?"

"Yeah... we broke up," he admitted with a frown. "She wasn't very happy with the decision, but I think she understood."

Tina rubbed her friend's bicep comfortingly, and looked at him with pity. "I'm sorry."

"It's all good. I guess I'll just enjoy the competition from the audience. It was fun while it lasted."

As Sam was about to leave for his next class, an idea popped into Tina's head. She quickly chased after him down the hall until he caught him just before he got into Mr. Schue's Spanish class.

"Sam, I wanna ask you something!"

Sam looked at her curiously, and before she even said anything, he already knew what she was gonna ask him.

* * *

**Author's Comments**: OMG! What will Tina ask him? I think it's fairly obvious what she'll ask, but it's always fun to leave the chapter on a cliffhanger. Anyway, leave a review, favorite the story, or start following. You're in this far, and you know you can't stop!


	17. Saving All My Love for You

**Author's Comments**: Yay! I finally updated! To be perfectly honest this entire chapter was made up within an hour. I don't know what came over me. It's like I took a mental laxative and my brain just shit out writing. Okay, that was a gross analogy, but nevertheless, you get the point. I'm so proud of myself! Let me also talk about how awful Glee has been to our beloved Tina Cohen-Chang. This Blina storyline is terrible. They should've just ended it at Sadie Hawkins, but nope. It's getting worse and worse and Tina's getting a lot heat for it. Oh, well. Not gonna delve deeper into that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. It's mostly about (well all about) your favorite crackship couples! I can't believe some of you have been reviewing over the long hiatus! I love you guys. Anyway, next chapter will be posted on Valentine's Day, because it's also the Valentine's Day chapter! :D

**Featured Pairings**: Tiff (Tina/Jeff), flirtatious!Mackford (The Mack/Matt), Jayford (Jayelle/Matt), Anderhart (Blaine/Joe), implied!Samtina (Sam/Tina)

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen  
****Love Gives You the Right to Be Free, You Said, "Be Patient, Just Wait a Little Longer," But That's Just An Old Fantasy  
****("Saving All My Love for You" by Whitney Houston)**

* * *

February had finally come along and the weather was settling to a nice chilly, cozy feel. The looming terror of Regionals was getting closer and closer, and the bigger terror was just about to begin: Valentine's Day. Only a few more days until this dreaded holiday where chocolate candies and pink and red doilies infect America with its declarations of gushy, fairytale love that only serves as a reminder to single people everywhere that they are all losers.

Since Tina was old enough to finally grasp the concept of this day, she has always secretly dreamed of what it would be like to have been swept off her feet by a knight in shining armor on Valentine's Day. Before Artie and Mike, she'd often fantasize how perfect all of her Valentine's Days could; being showered with gifts like white stuffed teddy bears that have a heart permnantly stitched to their arm with a cute "I Love You" message etched across in cursive or maybe a single rose to represent the love her lover had for her.

Talk about naïve. Her first Valentine's Day with her first real boyfriend ended in her and Artie making out in his bedroom, with Artie receiving a generous "happy ending" from Tina, but that mostly came from her insatiable curiosity of finding out if Little Artie Abrams was still functioning properly. Artie was never much of a romantic, and to tell you the truth, he was a little bit of a misogynist.

Thankfully, he has gotten better since dating Aphasia. Go figure.

Her second Valentine's Day was spent with Mike and Mrs. Chang enjoying a lovely dinner at Dim Sum where she was treated to a delightful chicken feet salad, and then finally the night was ended with Mike and Tina going to Breadstix to sit through yet another lovely solo by Blaine when he was still with The Warblers. I hope the sarcasm is getting through. Anyway, it was one thing to have a bad date with a guy on Valentine's Day, it was another to have a bad date with the guy's mom. In all honesty, Tina got the impression that Mrs. Chang didn't like her. Maybe it was the various obscenities she heard Mrs. Chang tell her son about Tina in front of her, her mouth filled with the wrinkled-up legs of a hen.

Her Chinese was a little rusty, considering she grew up mostly in an English speaking household, so all she got was something about "dresses funny" and "boobs too small."

That's untrue, by the way. Tina's boobs are very nice and squeezable, according to Jeff, Artie, and Sam (although, there's no reason to inform Jeff of this one). And despite her previous debacles when it came to this horrid holiday, Tina decided that she was going to have a rocking Valentine's Day, all thanks to Sugar.

During a session at the beauty salon where the girls were getting their nails done, Sugar brought up her plan to throw a Valentine's Day bash at Breadstix (because that seemed to be the only restaurant in town) appropriately dubbed the "Sugar Shack".

"It's gonna be amaze-balls," Sugar squealed, speaking loud enough so the other patrons could hear. "And you gotta make sure you gals bring a date. Single people don't exist in my world."

"Ain't you single, Hawkface?" Aphasia questioned.

Sugar scrunched up her face, ignoring the girl. "Not for long. I plan on asking Sam Evans to the dance. Ever since he got dumped by J-Hud, he has been bummed out. So I thought I'd add a little Sugar to his life."

The girls giggled at this admission as they all went into a discussion on who they would bring to the party. Tina was getting a nasty filing job done on her toes when Sugar scooched over to her and whispered, "Although, I'm totally sure Sam would just _love_ to go with you, Teens."

Tina directed her vicious glare from the Korean woman who was currently trying to saw her foot off towards Sugar, who shrugged the look off as if she hadn't said anything. "I don't know where you're getting at."

Rolling her eyes, Sugar replied, "Oh, come on, Teens, you know Sam's totally got a hard-on for Ms. Tina Cohen-McHot Hot."

"No, he does not."

"Okay then, but is Jeff okay with Sam totally being in Freestyle Unity?"

"Of course he is," Tina snapped heatedly, "We need twelve members while Matt's leg heals and Sam agreed to help us."

"I know, but is he totally okay with it in terms of your relationship?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, Sam is totally the reason your relationship with Mike totally tanked," the spoiled heiress shrugged.

"No, Mike is the reason our relationship tanked," Tina denied fervently, "Sam had nothing to do with it."

"Sam was totally a factor. I mean, Mike was totally jealous of him and it ruined your relationship. Face it, Teens, if it had been someone like Artie, he wouldn't have cared—"

"Are you callin' my man ugly, Richie Bitch?"

"Don't care," Sugar dismissed before going back to Tina, "And not to mention, you totally made out with Sam and that means he totally has the hots for you."

"I swear, she says "totally" one more time, I'm gonna—" said Aphasia to Giselle, Pendleton and The Mack, shaking her fist threateningly. The three other girls could only nod their head in agreement.

"What is it with everyone's obsession with me and Sam?" Tina stated heatedly, "I mean, why does everyone keep thinking we're going to end up sleeping together?"

Sugar shrugged. "You can't deny that you guys just have so much sexual tension." Tina practically cried at the sounds of agreement coming from the other female Freestyle Unity members.

"There is no _sexual tension_," Tina denied, annoyed with having to say the same thing over and over. "That's all in people's heads."

"That may be true, Bai Ling," came Giselle's voice, "But there's no denying the fact that Guppy Face makes goo-goo eyes at your Asian butt."

Tina's jaw dropped at hearing this. She didn't know what to say. The concept of Sam having a crush on her never really crossed her mind. Maybe she needed to re-think letting Sam into the group, if it's going to eventually cause problems between her and Jeff. She didn't want to experience another Mike incident.

She shook head. No, it's not fair to Sam. He never acted upon those feelings, _if_ he has those feelings, so there would be no reason to kick him out and plus, they needed twelve members to compete in Regionals which meant that Tina was stuck in this situation whether she'd like it or not. But she didn't have to worry. She was perfectly happy in her relationship with Jeff and she was definitely not going to stray. No way is she going to dip into the forbidden fruit, no matter how _tempting_ it is.

**glee**

Matt Rutherford was surprised to see The Mack come by his house almost every day since his injury, if only for the sake of keeping him company. It was rather nice of her and she even insisted that he refer to her as Casey when she visited him, which she admitted he was the only one she allowed to call her that. Matt spent most of the time, trying to study the girl, wondering what it was that made her tick. His first perception of her was completely different to the one he has of the girl he was now staring at across from a wooden chessboard as she killed his knight with her bishop.

Suffice it to say, it was like she was completely different person. At rehearsals, she was this rough and tough Skank who bullied people and made crude jokes. But _Casey_ was the girl who was a lot smarter than she let on and a lot more intuitive than he'd imagine. She was... interesting.

"Ya can't do dat," she said as he caught him trying to move his king out of harm's way.

Smiling, he teased, "Oh, yeah? And how exactly am I supposed to get out of this situation?"

"Ya can't," the girl smirked. "I got ya trapped four ways. Da only way ya can move is by going diagonal, but I'll just move my queen right there—" She pointed at an open spot where Matt's king could potentially move to. "And then, I'll have you in check."

Matt laughed. "Wow, I can't believe you beat me again."

"You seem su-prised," said The Mack as she moved her queen to the same spot she said she was gonna move to after Matt moved his king. "Checkmate."

Matt gathered up his pieces, setting them up in the correct spots as he and The Mack prepared to start another game, "You're interesting, you know that?"

"Oh, yeah, how so?"

"Well, you're just so much more different than how you are at rehearsals."

The Mack pursed her lips, contemplating. "I ain't really good with opening up, despite my rep."

"Your _rep_?"

"As a hoe," she said simply, shrugging her shoulders.

He frowned at this, staring blankly at her. "But you're not that. You said you were a virgin."

"Yeah, I know," The Mack snapped, a little annoyed but tried to shrug it off as she started the game by moving her pawn two spaces forward, "But dat doesn't stop people from sayin' it. And I let 'em think dat about me. It gets me respect."

"You can get respect by being who you are," said Matt as he moved his pawn to block hers.

"It's too late for me," the girl said as she moved her bishop. "I can't go back to bein' me. I can live with dis rep, I'm totally cool with that."

"Are you?"

She didn't answer. Instead, they continued the game in silence, which ended in him finally beating her. The Mack's mind wasn't fully in the game as it was too busy contemplating Matt's words. To be perfectly honest, she had been spending a lot of time with him, talking about each other's likes and dislikes and personal stories about their families. It was nice to finally talk to someone who didn't want to make out with her in a bathroom stall that smelled like piss and vomit.

They played several more matches against each other, both winning a few times but The Mack enjoyed more victories. It wasn't until their twenty-second chess match that a knock came at the door. Matt's parents shouldn't be back for another two hours from work, so The Mack went to see who could possibly be over at this hour. Outside was a girl with wild curly hair and a sneer on her face as she studied The Mack up and down.

"Who are you?" she said, hints of jealousy in her voice.

"Uh, who are you?" The Mack answered back.

"I'm Jayelle Braxton, Matt Rutherford's girlfriend," the girl shot back challengingly, "Is he here?"

"Jay? Is that you?" Matt's voice called from the living room.

Not bothering to wait for an invite, Jayelle shoved herself through to see her boyfriend and to get a good explanation as to why some girl who's dressed like she had been working the streets all night is doing her man's house.

"Baby, who the hell is this?" Jayelle all but shouted, pointing to The Mack, "I'm off at glee club practice and I come here to check up on you, because I'm such a good girlfriend to you, and I see you here entertaining some _trick_?"

The Mack put her hands on her hip, as she listened and was ready snap her neck when she heard this crazy chick insult her. Sensing the animosity between the two, Matt quickly cut in to avoid any physical altercation that could end in the shedding of somebody's blood. Possibly his.

"She's just a friend, Jay," he said hastily. "Nothing's going on between us. I promise."

The Mack's shoulders slumped when she heard this. She knew he had a girlfriend and she knew that they were only just friends, but hearing it from Matt's mouth almost hurt. But then she remembered how she went about her life: without feelings. He was just another guy and she was just a friend.

"Is that so?" Jayelle pressed, untrusting. "How come I've never heard of this hoe?"

"A'ight, listen here, Señorita," said The Mack mockingly, "Nothing's going on between me and Matt. Your man said we're just friends." She looked over at Matt as if she was mocking his words, and the boy picked up her anger. "And if you're really his girlfriend, where the hell were you when he needed the company?"

Without another word towards the bickering couple, The Mack stormed out Matt's house, not even bothering to finish the game they were participating in, although that was the last thing on either of their minds.

**glee**

_"...in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions,"_ came the voice of a young Anthony Michael Hall, _"But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain..."_

_"And an athlete,"_ said Emilio Estevez.

_"And a basket case,"_ said Ally Sheedy.

_"A princess,"_ said Molly Ringwald.

_"And a criminal."_ said Judd Nelson.

_"Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club."_

And then in the iconic ending of the famous John Hughes classic, Judd Nelson as Bender walked down a football field passed a goal post, raising his fist in the air in a proud gesture of independence and individuality as Simple Mind's _Don't You (Forget About Me)_ played in the background before fading to black and showing the credits. Tina snuggled in closer to Jeff's warm body as they sat on Tina's small couch in her bedroom. Thankfully, her parents were not home, so Jeff being in her room wasn't an issue and if they happen to play a little game of naked make-out session, then so be it.

"I love this one," Tina smiled, "I think I like it more than _Pretty In Pink_. I feel like the message is so much more deeper here than the other one. We're all different and at the same time we're still very much alike. We're just humans."

Jeff looked Tina adoringly, "You're perfect," he whispered to her before sneaking in a kiss.

"Well, close enough," Tina winked before pulling her boyfriend into another kiss which led to a pretty heavy make-out session.

Before any "under-the-clothes" action could ensue, Tina pulled away from Jeff, making the boy whine at the loss and pout adorably. She reached over the empty popcorn bowl and towards the stack of DVDs she took out for her and Jeff's movie night date. She quickly looked through various selections, wondering which movie would be the best to watch next.

"What should we check-out next?" Tina asked as she tossed aside _Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides_ and _The Karate Kid_ remake.

"I was trying to check _you_ out," the blonde prep school kid as he admired his girlfriend's bent over position.

"Oh sure, keep it up, Jeffrey," Tina said warningly, but with a hint of playfulness in her tone.

"It _is_ up," Jeff said suggestively, earning a half-hearted punch in the arm from the Asian beauty. "Hey! You're abusive!"

Tina let out a belly laugh as she finally settled on _Avatar_. She put the movie in the DVD player and nestled back into Jeff's arms. About ten minutes in, Jeff spoke up with a weird tone.

"So... why'd you pick this one?"

Tina looked at him curiously, an eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

"It's just that... it's that Sam guy's favorite movie," he answered. "He mentioned it a few times... in Na'vi."

Tina shook her head, a confused look on her face. Suddenly she was filled with memories a jealous Mike pummeling an innocent Sam for allegedly slapping skins with his _former_ girlfriend, and she replayed her previous conversation with Sugar in her head. Chewing her lip, she studied Jeff's unreadable expression.

"I don't know. I liked the effects I guess."

Jeff nodded, looking back at the movie. Tina huffed in annoyance. She was not about to go through this drama again. Once was enough, but twice? If this keeps up, she might have to take her anger out on Sam for ruining two of her relationships just by simply existing.

"Is this about me inviting Sam into Freestyle Unity?"

Rolling his eyes, Jeff retorted. "You know, you could've said something before just throwing it out there to the group at the last meeting."

"We need twelve people. I'm not gonna let Rachel win against me," Tina declared vehemiently, "Not when I've worked so hard and come this far!"

Jeff looked down at his feet as if that would distract him from the conversation, which, of course, it didn't.

"Are we gonna talk or what?" asked an annoyed Tina.

"I don't know, Tina, I just... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted like an ass."

"No, you shouldn't have," Tina said bitingly. Jeff's face grew hot, embarrassed by his stupidity and Tina suddenly felt bad for being so harsh. "Jeff, I care about you a lot." Jeff's eyes looked back at Tina, staring blankly at her as he studied her face to see if she was genuine and was convinced that she was being completely honest. "And nothing's gonna change that. I'm going with you to the Sugar Shack and I'm spending Valentine's Day with you. Not Sam."

"Okay,"

"Having him around me 24/7 is not gonna change what we have, okay?"

"Okay—Wait, he's around you 24/7?"

"JEFFREY ANTHONY STERLING!"

"I'm just kidding." And Jeff dipped in to steal a kiss from his angry girlfriend's pouty lips.

**glee**

Throughout the entire night, Joe Hart could not keep his hands off his boyfriend. He was surprised to learn how grabby he was as his hands explored just about every surface of Blaine's body during their make-out sessions on Joe's bed. Of course, such behavior was considered a sin against his Lord, even with a girl, but regardless Joe was completely content with the short boy under him. His kissing had gotten a lot better, according to Blaine, and he found himself to be less uptight about certain things, even learning to "let go of old traditions."

Even when he sought advice from Sam, he learned that going "old school" was an outdated thing and all that mattered was that Joe was still a kind and caring person. Sam even mentioned that God would kill to have someone like Joe in heaven instead of someone intolerant and judgmental like, say, his parents. He knew that was probably an awful thing to say (or think), but he was frightened of the repercussions of his parents finding out. He would have to tell them eventually, but not now. Not when he wasn't ready. And Blaine was patient enough to let Joe come out at his own pace.

Initially, Blaine had come over to practice music for Sugar's Valentine's Day bash at Breadstix, but the music seemed to have gotten away from them and time flew by so quickly. It wasn't until a knock on Joe's door that the two boys quickly seperated from each other and straightened themselves up so they didn't cause suspicion. Joe even had to cover himself with a pillow because he got a little _too_ eager during the make-out. Joe's mother walked in with a smile on her face, oblivious to the actions her son was committing with the same boy in the room.

"Joe, it's getting pretty late," said the woman, "Is your friend staying over?"

"Uh, yeah, mom, we—um—we were gonna practice some more."

Narrowing her eyes, she scanned Blaine up and down, whom didn't dare look her in the eye for fear of giving himself away. She left the room after offering to invite Blaine to dinner and the boys eventually let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close," said Joe, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Yeah, it was," said Blaine as he sat back against Joe's bad and looked around the room. The place was uncommonly clean and adorned with many religious paraphernalia such as crosses, both small and large, and candles with Jesus on them. And to be perfectly honst, it scared the crap out of him. It's almost as if Jesus was watching him like those paintings whose eyes follow you wherever you guy. Watching you, judging you. It was creepy.

"You know, you should try putting up some posters or maybe adding in, like, a TV or something?"

"My family doesn't own a TV and I wish I could, but my parents would freak."

"Why?"

"They think putting up posters is breaking the first commandment."

"Thou shalt not...have posters?"

"_Thou shalt have no other gods before me, your lord_," Joe giggled at his boyfriend's lame joke, "Exodus, 20:3."

Blaine laughed. He was surprised to see Joe's memory of the Bible to be so accurate. He probably memorized that book from cover to cover, which was a little scary. He could barely remember the first sentence of _A Tale of Two Cities_. "_It was the best of times, it was the worst of times_," or was it, "_It was the worst of times, it was the best of times_?" Oh, who cares...

Blaine looked over at his boyfriend, and noticed a sullen look on his face as the dread-head was deep in thought. "Something the matter?" Blaine asked.

Joe sighed, rubbing a hand through his dreads before nodding, "Yeah, it's just. It's just this whole _thing_ is so..." Blaine's heart raced as Joe made his statement, fearing the worst. The worst being getting dumped and being alone forever. Okay, Blaine was a bit over-dramatic, but what teenager wasn't? "...overwhelming."

"What do you mean?"

Joe sat back against his bed, lying next to Blaine as he stared at the ceiling with the bowtie-loving teen looking directly at him with curiosity. "I don't know, I guess I'm just feeling a little guilty."

"About me?"

"No!" Joe said quickly, "I meant about my parents. I hate lying to them. I feel horrible."

Blaine sat up, looking down at his boyfriend with an optimistic smile on his face. "I know it's hard. Believe me, I've been there. But whatever happens, just remember that I'm here for support."

"I know," Joe smiled. "I-I love you."

Blaine felt his stomach do somersaults. He didn't remember the last time someone told him they loved him. He vaguely remembered Kurt saying it once or twice, but nowadays he tried to forget about his broken relationship with Kurt to focus on more important things. Like his well-being and his new boyfriend. He had to admit, after all the hell he had been through, it was nice being able to breathe again. He leant down to plant a small kiss on Joe's mouth, nuzzling his nose affectionately before smiling against his lips.

"I love you, too," he said. "And I promise everything will be alright."

"I'm praying it does."

**glee**

Tina was a little disappointed when after the next Freestyle Unity performance. The group had finally received their letter on who they were gonna face off against at Regionals. According to the letter Coach Washington beaten Principal Figgins to get, they would be going up against the Texas Two-Tones (who were from Illinois) and The Crescendonators, a glee club from a small town in Michigan. After some extensive research from Giselle and Sugar, they all came to the conclusion that these would be easy defeats and everyone declared a celebration.

Tina, however, wasn't as naïve. If these teams were able to get to Regionals, they had to be a lot better than they appeared, but she didn't want to bring her club down. To be honest, she was feeling a little cocky herself since her big victory at Sectionals. Her glee club managed to win while wearing swim suits out of the 60s. She had to be doing something right with these nutcases. As the group all piled out, Tina informed Jeff that he should gonna wait for her in the car while she finished gathering all the sheet music.

As she stepped out of the choir room, she accidentally tripped over Sam Evans, the big topic of discussion this week with the girls. The sheet music spilled all over the floor and immediately, Sam rushed to her aide.

"I'm sorry, I was tying my shoes and it was taking me a while to remember how that went," Sam smiled sheepishly as he gathered up Tina's papers.

"Thanks," Tina blushed as she hurriedly tried to gather everything. "Um, bye Sam."

She tried to make a run for it before she heard Sam calling out to her. "Tina, wait!"

Oh, crap. Tina's heart raced as she felt her feet stop dead at the sound of Sam's sexy, smooth voice. _Goddamn it! Focus Cohen-Chang_. Curse her weak willpower. Slowly, as if time was stopping, she turned towards Sam with a nervous quiver on her lips. Her throat seemed to have closed up and her hands were shaking and getting clammy. She didn't know why she was feeling this way. She shouldn't be feeling this way. This is the way she should be feeling with Jeff. What's Jeff doing right now? What is he thinking about? Is he thinking about her? Is he thinking about the glee club? Is the glee club going to win Regionals? When is Regionals, by the way? Is it in March? Is it in a week? Is it tomorrow? Is it—

"Tina?"

"Oh, my God!" she moaned out as she snapped out of her rapid fire thoughts. For a minute there, it sounded like Ms. Pillsbury was in her head.

Sam's eyes widened at her sudden outburst, and he had to admit, he was a little turned on to hear her moan like that. He wondered if that's how she sounded—No! He mustn't think like that. He couldn't think like that. He should be thinking like that with Mercedes... Okay, enough of that. Back to the story. "I'm sorry, I just... I needed to talk to you."

"S-Sam, I don't—" her words left her mouth so softly, like she was saying her dying wish, "I-I, uh, J-Jeff's waiting—"

"I know."

"We can't."

"I know."

"Sam, please."

"I have to say this," he started defiantly, inching closer. "Tina, I... I have these... emotions in my head and I've been wondering what they were about." Tina gulped as she backed up against the lockers, dropping the papers to the floor. She wasn't scared of Sam because she knew he wasn't going to hurt her, but she was afraid of the fact that she wasn't afraid of him. A part of her is screaming at her to step closer, not backwards. "I think I know what they're about. I think about you all the time—"

"Sam..."

"—and I can't stop myself from doing it—"

"Don't..."

"—and I know exactly why I can't—"

"I-I-I..."

"I'm in love with you, Tina—"

"You can't be."

"But I am," the blonde Trouty Mouth stated. "And I messed up by rejecting you over winter break. I knew I wanted you then and I know I want you now."

"But Jeff..."

"It breaks my heart seeing you with him."

One step closer from him. Another step closer from Tina. The gap between them was slowly getting smaller and smaller.

Shaking her head, though she seemed unsure, she replied, "I can't do this..."

"Do what?"

"Th-this..."

Before she could help it, his mouth was on hers. Big and full and perfect. It felt so right combing her fingers through his blonde hair and feeling his hands roam around her body, caressing her hips as they deepened the kiss. And then she pushed him away and ran down the hallway out towards the parking lot, not even bothering to retrieve her music sheets. She rushed over to Jeff's car where Jeff was jamming out to Maroon 5 while waiting for her. She stepped in, breathing heavily, a guilty conscience on her shoulders.

"You okay, babe?" Jeff asked as he started up the car again.

Tina gulped. She was unable to say any words. How could she? What can she say? She didn't say anything, she simply nodded her head and accepted the small, chaste kiss from Jeff as he drove out of the parking lot. She couldn't believe she had done it. After dispelling all rumors that nothing would happen, she caved not even two seconds in. She knew what she had done and she knew that this was not going to simply go away so easily.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Oy vey. DRAMA! What's gonna happen in the next chapter? Wait and find out. Your thoughts matter to me, so please comment on what you thought of this chapter. :D


	18. Bleeding Love

**Author's Comments**: Well guys. I wanted to get this submitted for Valentine's Day, but stuff fell through and I'm a little but better late than never! Anyway, let's pretend this is ten hours ago and it's Valentine's Day! Tonight's episode of Glee was okay, and admittedly not as bad as I thought it would be, but (spoiler alert) I'm happy that things with Blaine and Tina and Kurt ended happily and then Quinntana. Just wanky. Speaking of Blaine and Tina, we have lots of good stuff for Tina, Jeff, Joe, and Blaine tonight. Yay! You know love those couples. You know I know? Reading your lovely responses and I'm only happy to write the next chapter for you guys. Enjoy and I hope you had a great Valentine's Day.

**Featured Pairings**: Tiff (Tina/Jeff), unrequited!Samtina (Sam/Tina), Anderhart (Blaine/Joe), unrequited!Klaine (Kurt/Blaine), Artasia (Artie/Aphasia), Pendletank (Pendleton/Hank), unrequited!Mackford (The Mack/Matt), Jayford (Jayelle/Matt), implied!Gizimio (Giselle/Azimio)

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen  
****Closed Off From Love, I Didn't Need The Pain, Once Or Twice Was Enough And It Was All In Vain  
****("Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis)**

* * *

Tina's heart raced as Jeff drove closer and closer to her house. The entire ride between the two was completely silent with only Nicki Minaj's _Pink Friday_ album playing low on the radio. They didn't speak to one another and Jeff was contemplating if he should ask her what was wrong or leave her to her thoughts, which she has a habit of saying out loud anyway. Little did he know that Tina was trying her best to keep her emotions in check and keep from blurting anything out from the past half hour. Her phone was vibrating in her purse throughout the entire ride and she knew from glancing at the very first text message that it was Sam trying to get into contact with her.

_He already got into contact_, Tina thought, _With his tongue_.

She shook her head at the thoughts. This was not the time to be thinking about that. It hurt her to think that. That she can fantasize about another guy when she has the perfect boyfriend sitting right next to her, driving with a calm look on his face that would soon turn to a look of complete devestation if she ever uttered a single word about her encounter with Sam. But she knew she had to tell him. The longer she waited, the worse it will get and keeping secrets isn't exactly a recommended thing in a relationship.

Why did it have to happen?

Why did Sam have to admit his feelings now?

Well, given the fact that he did admit his feelings for her a while back during winter break but was then still in love with Mercedes. Everything was so complicated and confusing that it was just too much to take anymore. What with the drama brought on by Rachel, Kurt, and Mike, Tina felt like she was ready to kill herself. Not seriously, though...

Jeff had finally reached Tina's house and leaned over to kiss her goodnight, which she half-heartedly returned.

"I love you," he whispered before planting another kiss on her soft lips. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she returned before exiting out of the car and sprinting towards her house, ignoring the fact that she could slip on the icey slush all over her driveway. Jeff drove off, and Tina looked back at his shrinking car in the distance with a sullen look on her face, knowing that these sweet moments were now numbered.

**glee**

The next day at school, Tina was walking to her locker. McKinley had gotten into the Valentine's Day spirit and the hallways were covered toe-to-toe with pink-and-red decorations. Almost every corner had a heart-shaped Valentine stapled to the wall and little cardboard cherubs were hanging from the ceiling. Valentine's Day certainly took a healthy dose of Vitamin D at McKinley High. Despite her initial exicitement for the holiday, Tina could not bring herself to smile at all during the day. She avoided Sam's eyesight during History, opting to use Artie as a barrier between the two, and also ignored his text messages by turning her phone off.

All Tina had to do was survive the day intact and get home to change for Sugar's party. Of course, life was always counter-productive and the worst possible thing that could happen happened. Jeff, sensing Tina's sulky attitude the other night, had decided to surprise her with a singing telegram from The God Squad in the courtyard. Although Jeff was not present, she knew it was from him because Joe had that goofy smile on his face when he told her it's from her secret admirer.

_**(Joe)  
**__My heart's a stereo  
__It beats for you so listen close  
__Hear my thoughts in every no-o-ote  
__Make me your radio  
__And turn me up when you feel low  
__This melody was meant for you  
__So sing along to my stereo_

Surprisingly enough, Quinn and Mercedes were there with Joe and Sam to serenade her and despite the muddy past between Tina and New Directions, especially since Sam broke things off with Mercedes over the Matt incident, the two girls had agreed that this was for a good cause and powered through the performance with as much gusto as they showed when they were once a happy family together in glee club. The most awkward thing was hearing Sam rap the first verse directly to her, and judging by the jealous look on Mercedes, she could tell that Sam was intentionally rapping _about_ her than just simply to her.

The entire courtyard got into the performance and they made a big spectacle of the whole song. Everyone was throwing their hands up and The God Squad even brought in Mercedes' church choir to do a few back-up singing. The only thing that kept her smiling was seeing Joe's bright, happy face as he got so into his performance for his friend. He was so innocent and had absolutely no clue of what was going on between her and Sam. And it was probably best to keep him out of the loop.

Thankfully, the song had finally come to an end and she had unexpectedly received a friendly kiss on the cheek by Joe as Sam walked up to her with a chocolate rose he had stolen from some random girl in the crowd. Accepting the gift as to not arise suspicion, she faked a wide smile on her face to show her appreciation as everybody went back to their day-to-day routine. Joe decided to walk Tina to her next class, since he had free period.

"I can't wait for Sugar's party," Joe gushed, "I'm really excited to sing to Blaine."

Tina smiled as Joe went on and on about the song he was going to sing and how Blaine was going to love it. From the corner of her eye, she could see Rachel at her locker with Kurt, both staring daggers at the duo, particularly Rachel to Tina and Kurt to Joe. Rolling her eyes, she linked an arm around Joe's and headed down to her next class. As luck would have it, Tina ran into Sugar walking to her next class and she bid Joe a farewell.

"What's up with you, Teens?" Sugar asked as she saw the despair on her friend's face.

"Something happened," Tina started tearfully as they walked to their next classes. Thankfully, they were both conveniently next door to each other.

"O-M-Jesus, you're pregnant!"

"What? No!" Tina exclaimed, "Why does everyone think I'm pregnant?"

"Well, you do have a little pudge going on," Sugar shrugged.

"It's stress bloating!" Tina cried, an offended look playing on her face. "Anyway, that's not what I was going to say."

Tina pulled Sugar into an empty corridor, looking around for any wandering eyes. Feeling secure, she took a deep breath and said, "I kissed Sam."

Sugar's eyes all but popped out of her head at the news. Her jaw dropped almost cartoonishly and she had to ask Tina to repeat herself. Saying it once was bad enough, but saying it a second time left a nasty taste in her mouth. The worst part was that she didn't feel any kind of remorse over kissing Sam, just remorse that she cheated on Jeff. In fact, although a large part of her was disgusted with this thought, she enjoyed the kiss a lot more than she wanted to and that really screwed with her feelings.

After making plans to get coffee and discuss the situation later, Tina bid Sugar farewell, feeling better that she finally got all of this off her chest, but little did she know that a pair of eyes was in fact watching her and heard everything.

**glee**

Tina got the girls to gather at her house to get ready for the big bash at Breadstix. Most of the girls were contemplating on matching clothing but decided that they add their own spin on a Valentine's Day outfit.

The Mack was going to wear all black as she was still bitter from her encounter with Matt and that ghetto Salli Richardson wannabe Jayelle. Aphasia was going to be wearing a white and blue dress with matching shoes, saying she had already planned with Artie to wear color-coded clothing together. Pendleton, surprisingly went for a sexier look as she donned a low-cut skirt and tight blouse that showed off the boobs that seemed to have been hiding behind those ugly heart sweaters. And speaking of hearts, Giselle was planning on wearing a white dress a la Marilyn Monroe with red hearts sprinkled across; she mentioned that it was going to go with the song she had chosen for the Sugar Shack. And then finally, there was Sugar, who donned an outfit that was both pink and furry and very Sugar Motta. Tina decided to dress simple and go for what Giselle _lovingly_ (sarcasm detected) dubbed it an "Amish Valentine chic."

As the girls chatted away on their plans for the party, Tina decided that it was time to drop the bombshell.

"I kissed Sam," she said simply.

Sugar, of course, was unfazed though she did seem surprised that Tina was going to reveal it to the girls so quickly.

"You did what?" asked Giselle.

"When?" asked Aphasia

"Where?" asked The Mack.

"How?" squeaked Pendleton.

"I kissed Sam after our last rehearsals in a hallway McKinley and, um, with _my_ mouth?"

The girls looked at her with shocked faces and Sugar confirmed that this was true from her earlier conversation. The girls all had expectant looks on their faces, but it was Pendleton who asked the question that they had all been thinking.

"W-why?" she inquired timidly.

"I don't know," Tina sighed, "I didn't even—I don't know." She rubbed a hand through her face repeatedly, not even caring that she was smearing her blush. "It just happened. He told me that he was in love with me and then we both kissed?"

"O-M-Jesus, this is just like _Sex and the City 2_ where Carrie kissed her ex-boyfriend," Sugar said, "Like, totes awkward."

"But this is real life, Sugs," Tina stated, "I don't know what's going on or why I feel this way."

"How do you feel?" a concerned Pendleton pressed.

Sighing out loud, Tina shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I guess a part of me still has feelings for Sam," she said, shaking her head at her own stupidity. "I'm gonna tell Jeff tonight."

To her surprise, Giselle popped into the conversation. "No, you will not!" she ordered, "Look, B.D. Wong, you made a mistake and it was just a kiss, but you need to think about what's gonna happen after you tell Jeff. This isn't gonna just affect you, it's gonna affect all of us."

"She's right, Pikachu," Aphasia added, "You tell Jeff and shit's gon' go down between him and Sam and with Matt out for da competition, we can't have dat kinda drama."

Tina was shocked to hear this and even looked over at the other girls for their opinions. Judging by the guilty looks on their faces, Tina could tell that they agreed with what the other girls' were saying. And maybe there was some truth to it, although Tina was too stubborn to admit it, but things could definitely be dysfunction if Jeff found out about Sam. In fact, it may even turn into the Puckleberry Fuinn drama during her freshman year at high school right before Sectionals, and Tina was trying to avoid at all costs any kind of connection to New Directions.

The girls were probably right, and Tina was going to have to take one for the team tonight.

**glee**

Blaine and Joe walked into Breadstix with hand-in-hand. Blaine helped Joe dress for the occasion in a cute little suit that he had in his close while Blaine wore a nice suit of his own, completely with an adorable hat. The two marveled at all of the decorations that Sugar had prepared for the evening.

A mere three months ago, Blaine didn't even realize that he would be in this situation. He didn't even know Joe back then and here he was with their fingers linked together, getting ready to spend his first Valentine's Day in a relationship. He didn't really count the last Valentine's Day because he and Kurt had not been dating then, especially after that embarrassing Gap Attack with The Warblers. Gosh, that was so embarrassing, and it seemed like forever-ago. Smiling, he and Joe sat in a booth with Joe having a firm grip on his guitar Mary.

Spotting Artie waving at him by the speakers, Joe smirked and got up from his spot next to his boyfriend.

"Actually, I kind of wanna sing my song to you before the guests arrive," he said as he prepared himself. He strummed a few chords on his as Blaine heard Artie start harmonizing. A few moments later, Hank appeared and joined the duo in their serenade to Blaine. "We all made this mash-up together, I hope you love it as much as I love you."

_**(Joe)  
**__1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4  
__Give more loving than I've ever had  
__Make it all better when I'm feeling sad  
__Tell me I'm special even when I know I'm not_

Blaine's heart could only beat faster at hearing his boyfriend's lovely voice and that same familiar feeling he had when he first fell in love with Kurt (and then again with Joe) came back to him. To his surprise, he was greeted with a hug by Pendleton, who had left Tina's a while back to meet up with Hank as Hank had also planned to serenade her with this mash-up, and then again greeted with a playful punch to the arm by Aphasia, who drove the small girl here. The two sat back as they watched the impromptu performance before them, giggling at how cute the boys looked.

_**(Hank)  
**__Oh, make it feel good when it hurts so bad  
__Barely get mad  
__I'm so glad I found you  
__I love being around you  
__You make it easy_

_**(Joe)  
**__It's easy as 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4_

_**(Artie)  
**__You can count on me like 1, 2, 3  
__I'll be there  
__And I know when I need it I can  
__Count on you like 4, 3, 2  
__And you'll be there_

_**(Artie and Hank)  
**__I love you (__**Joe:**__ I love you)_

_**(Joe)  
**__There's only 1 way, 2 say, those 3 words  
__And that's what I'll do (__**Artie and Hank**__: I love you)  
__I love you_

A series of applause was met by the Breadstix waiting staff and the threesome that was being serenaded to. Almost immediately the six seperated into their individual booths as guests started pooring into the restaurant, fully-prepared for the epicness that would no doubt come at The Sugar Shack.

**glee**

To Tina's surprise, the party was a hit. She had to admit, she had her doubts that Sugar could pull off a rocking Valentine's Day bash, but she was certainly surprised at how much fun she was having. In fact, she almost completely forgot about Sam, who was currently dancing like a dork with Sugar to Giselle's first solo of the night. She had fittingly chose to sing _All Dressed In Love_ by Jennifer Hudson for the occasion, and joining her to back-up her powerful pipes were Pendleton and The Mack.

_**(Giselle)  
**__When you can wear what you feel  
__What do you wanna say?  
__Now love is a little number  
__That you can wear each day  
__As long as you let me be your accessory  
__Simply send me on my way  
__Style of love, I look good in love_

Feeling Jeff pull her towards the dance floor, Tina couldn't help but get lost in the music, thanking God that all her problems seemed to have ceased to exist just for this one night and in this perfect moment with Jeff. Although even as the night was going on, there was still that dull ache in the back of her mind that told her that things weren't as perfect as she had liked.

And damn, can Giselle hit those J-Hud notes just as good as the great Mercedes Jones herself.

_**(Giselle with Pendleton and The Mack)  
**__I'm all dressed up in love  
__Now I'm cool in the summer  
__Warm in the winter  
__I'm all dressed up in love  
__Now I'm cool in the summer  
__Warm in the winter_

_**(Giselle)  
**__'Cause I'm in love  
__All dressed up in love_

As the performance ended, Giselle went back up to the stage to introduce the next couple, Artie and Aphasia, who decided to sing a sensual crooner from R&B legends India Arie and Musiq Soulchild. The pair walked up to the stage (well, Artie rolled his way up the stage) and began their little number as the crowd slowed their dancing down to a sexier vibe.

_**(Aphasia)  
**__I don't mean to be decadant  
__I might sound like a hedonist  
__But the simplest way I can put it  
__You become a habit  
__The more I consume, the more I gotta have it_

Tina felt Jeff's hot breath on her neck, tickling her, comforting her, and at the same time, turning her on more than she could have ever imagined.

_**(Artie)  
**__Your precious darkness got me so  
__Strung out and lovin' the way that you  
__Got me so wide open my baby love_

Damn, did Artie and Aphasia's voices sound like sex when blended together. Talk about a massive eargasm, because there was not a single soul in that place who didn't get as into the song as the two singers on stage were. And did they ever. Artie was particularly well-known for his growing libido and seeing his girlfriend shake her big booty at him was causing him to go insane.

_**(Artie and Aphasia)  
**__There is something about your love  
__That makes me just wanna open up  
__Your flavor is the sweetest thing in life  
__I'm addicted to your chocolate high  
__And I want you and I know that you want me  
__So let's stay close like we supposed to be  
__And just get high off our own supply  
__I'm addicted to your chocolate high_

And then the song was over. Aphasia hopped on her man's lap and the pair rolled away to the bathroom, no one even bothering to even think about what kind of things they were planning to do in there. The only thing that Tina hoped for was that they were gonna use the handicapped stall for it. To her great surprise, Azimio walked up to the stage. Admittedly, during rehearsals, the two had grown to tolerate each other and Tina still had no idea why Azimio was still agreeing to go glee club practice but nevertheless she was glad that the two had finally become friends.

"Okay, guys, I got a nice slow beat for you lovers out there," came Azimio's voice over the speaker, "But this one is for my new baby girl, Giselle."

Tina's eyes widened in shock and then furrowed her brows before scrunching it up in realization. Azimio... and Giselle?! That's so...alrighty then.

_**(Azimio)  
**__I'm so proud to be loved by you  
__To hold you, to know you  
__And how I've long to give all my love  
__Believe me, it's easy_

Tina was a little shocked to hear how nice Azimio's voice was. He almost sounded like the late Gerald Levert himself as he continued on with the mellow and romantic tune. And the lyrics. It really spoke about love and truly embodied everything about this holiday.

_**(Azimio)  
**__When you came into my life, I knew  
__That I needed you around  
__I wanted to settle down  
__And give you all my time and I  
__Can't deny it, you showed me what love is_

Tina pulled herself close to Jeff as the two slow danced to the song. She rest her head on his shoulder as she breathed into her scent. He was perfect, in her opinion. He was the void that needed to be filled since Mike had completely blew it. Everything about him was perfect and still this moment wasn't. This moment should've just been them. Instead, it was Tina, Jeff and Sam. It was a love triangle whether Tina wanted it or not and whether Jeff knew about it or was completely clueless.

_**(Azimio with Hank and Sam)  
**__And I consider myself  
__The luckiest guy in the world  
__To make you smile  
__Does my heart proud  
__For you I'd go out my way_

And that was the part that really got to her. She knows that he'll find out eventually, whether from her mouth or someone else's. It seemed inevitable with every secret that came with a glee club. She looked over at the other dancers. Joe and Blaine were slow-dancing in public, despite someone Joe knew finding out and Blaine's previous history with dancing with a guy in public. She looked over at Aphasia and Artie, who seemed to have finished their little quickie in the bathroom and proceeded to share a dance together. Aphasia was even wearing his tie. The Mack was there, though trying her best to enjoy the festivities as she stared a few daggers at Matt, who sat at a booth making kissy faces at his girlfriend, Jayelle. Although, The Mack was mostly glaring at Jayelle, wondering what it would be like if Jayell had an accidental run in with her switchblade.

Everyone else looked happy, even Giselle, who was sitting down and listening to Azimio croon at her, and yet Tina seemed to be the only shedding a tear in a way contrary to how she should feel.

"You okay?" asked a concerned Jeff as he felt his shirt dampen from Tina's tears.

Straightening herself up and repositioning herself, she looked up at her boyfriend; her loving, perfect boyfriend whom she didn't deserve. Tonight was not the night. Everyone was finally happy and she was not going to ruin it with any drama.

_**(Hank and Sam)  
**__I adore you, I spoil you_

Smiling at the blonde, she replied, "Yes. I just don't want this moment to end." And she sealed it with a chaste kiss.

_**(Azimio)  
**__Tomorrow, I'm gonna be sweeter  
__Than I was today_

The song ended with a round of applause from everyone in the room and Giselle even walked up to plant a kiss on Azimio. Wow, they weren't joking. They really are a couple. Tina shook head as she let go of Jeff and waited for the next person to sing.

"Alright now we gonna bring in my man, Jeff, to the stage to sing for his girlfriend, Mulan," Azimio guffawed, earning a roar of cheers and encouragment from the crowd.

"Shut up, Z," Jeff laughed good-naturedly as he took the stage. Tina's breath hitched in her throat. This was gonna be harder than she thought. She looked over at Sam, who had been sneaking glances at her all night, mostly ones of sadness and remorse.

This whole scene was bring back a lot emotions that she had been feeling and she didn't know she was going to be able to live through the night.

"Okay, so I found this little song during one of mine and Tina's movie nights together so bear with me, guys," Jeff smiled as the band started playing.

_**(Jeff)  
**__For the way you changed my plans  
__For being the perfect distraction  
__For the way you took the idea that I had  
__Of everything that I wanted to have  
__And made me see  
__There was something missing_

Sam chewed on his big, pink bottom lip as he kept looking over at Tina with a look of longing as Tina tried her best to ignore him. She couldn't take this, not with singing this song to her. She remembered watching _The Princess and the Frog_ and commenting on how much she loved this song. The fact that Jeff even remembered and decided to sing it to her for Valentine's Day... she didn't know how to feel.

_**(Jeff)  
**__For the ending of my first begin  
__And for the rare and unexpected friend  
__For the way you're something that I'd never choose  
__But at the same time something I don't wanna lose  
__And never wanna be without ever again_

That's it. She couldn't hold them in any more. The stinging feeling of tears in her eyes was too great and she let them flow freely down her cheeks, not caring about the muddy tracks that they would most likely leave. She watched as Jeff performed, singing so beautifully with Tina staring at him like he was the most precious thing in the world.

_**(Jeff)  
**__You're the best thing I never knew I needed  
__So when you walked here, I had no idea  
__You were the best thing I never knew I needed  
__So now it's so clear, I need you here always_

As the song finished, she quickly pulled herself together to wipe up the make-up and tears as Jeff made his way towards her, a loud applause following him. Jeff surprised her with a soft but passionate kiss to her lips that was deepened immediately by Tina, who practically attacked his mouth with her own.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there," the blonde Dalton kid laughed, "We still have all night."

"But not forever," Tina whispered lowly.

"What was that?"

Tina smiled up at him with a sad smile. "Nothing," she said simply before wrapping her arms around his neck and slow danced to the next performers, Pendleton and Hank, who sang a lovely duet to _L-O-V-E_ by Nat King Cole.

_**(Pendleton)  
**__Love is all that I can give to you_

_**(Hank)  
**__Love is more than just a game for two_

_**(Pendleton and Hank)  
**__Two in love can make it  
__Take my heart and please don't break it  
__Love was made for me and you_

**glee**

After the night ended, a few of the Freestyle Unity members invited Blaine and Joe and Tina and Jeff to a small after party where everyone would just chill (and make-out). However, both couples decided to head home to get some sleep as Joe's parents were rather strick on curfew and Tina was just not in a partying mood. As the two parted ways, Joe and Blaine was surprised to see someone standing by Blaine's car.

"Kurt?" Blaine exclaimed in shock.

"I wanted to talk to you," said Kurt. The softness of his voice had hinted that he had been crying recently, though given the state of their previous relationship, Blaine could've really cared less.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," the gelled-head boy said defiantly.

In a begging tone, Kurt pleaded, "Please, Blaine. I want another chance."

Blaine shook his head. "Not gonna happen, Kurt, I'm happy with Joe."

Kurt let out a frustrated cry. "Are you even listening to yourself? I mean, who the hell is Joe anyway? Some hippie Christian who waltzed in and just swept you off your feet? You said we were soulmates!"

"Soulmates don't hurt each other the way you did to Blaine," Joe cut in, "But it's not too late to give penance and beg for forgiveness."

"JUST SHUT UP, YOU STUPID CHRISTIAN FREAK!"

_Smack_. Kurt was sent flying into the ground. Joe and Blaine looked at the scene with wide eyes as they stared up to see Azimio and Giselle standing in front of them with Azimio's fist raised in the air.

"And just for the record, Lady Boy," the big linebacker started to the crying boy on the ground who was currently writhing in pain from the punch, "I didn't punch you 'cause you was gay. I punched you 'cause you're a bitch."

Scrambling to his feet, Kurt glared at Joe and Blaine, holding a threatening finger to Joe in particular. "I swear, I'm going to make your lives miserable," he spat out threateningly, "You watch."

"You do something to our boy Joe, Butt Plug, and it's on," Giselle threatened back, "The heels of my stilletoes won't be able to control themselves when they're knocking out those baby teeth of yours. Not like it matters because you can't really see them when you smile anyway."

With a scowl on his face, Kurt stormed off back to his Navigator. Joe and Blaine breathed out a sigh of relief, although a cold chill ran up Joe's spine at Kurt's words and he knew this was not the end.

* * *

**Author's Comments:** Yes! I am so proud of myself with this chapter. I hope you guys liked it because I was surprised at how fast I wrote it just now. LOL. Please, tell what you thought in your reviews. And what did you think of the mash-up? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. More to come in the next chapter. We'll see if Tina ever tells Jeff and maybe we'll learn more about what will happen with the Joe/Blaine/Kurt situation. Maybe.

**Featured Songs:  
**"Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes featuring Adam Levine. Sung by Joe with The God Squad.  
"1, 2, 3, 4" / "Count On Me" by Plain White T's / Bruno Mars. Sung by Joe, Hank, and Artie.  
"All Dressed In Love" by Jennifer Hudson. Sung by Giselle with Pendleton and The Mack.  
"Chocolate High" by India Arie and Musiq Soulchild. Sung by Aphasia and Artie.  
"Sweeter" by Gerald Levert. Sung by Azimio with Hank and Sam.  
"Never Knew I Needed" by Ne-Yo. Sung by Jeff.  
"L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole. Sung by Pendleton and Hank.


End file.
